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Team Valspar raises over €30,000 on Alpe d’Huez

Team Valspar delivered an excellent performance during the Alpe d’HuZes fundraising campaign organised by the KWF cancer society. The seven-person cycling team conquered Alpe d’Huez three times, raising more than €30,000 for the fight against cancer. Dirk Huizinga, the driving force behind Team Valspar, started preparing for this Dutch cycling event in France almost a year ago. The 50-year-old Lelystad resident hit upon this idea when he saw thousands of cyclists scaling the mountain in 2011 to raise money for the KWF cancer society. He was particularly touched by these images because several close family members were suffering from the disease at that time.

Sponsors
With great persistence, he got a team together and found sponsors. Naturally, the team, which consisted of Margreet Hasperhoven, Ron van Dijk, Jacques van der Klauw, Ed Alkema, Hans Overbeek, Justin Overbeek and the above-mentioned Dirk Huizinga, also trained a lot. The high point: climbing Alpe d’Huez. Team Valspar collected more than €30,000 from companies, colleagues, family and friends. A large portion of the sponsoring money came from Valspar b.v., Huizinga’s employer. The team was given cycling gear, transport and a considerable sum of money. This type of sponsorship fits in perfectly with the paint manufacturer’s long-standing social policy. Valspar Lelystad, for example, sponsors the local football club, while Valspar Corporate in the US has been supporting the non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity since 2002 with cash and in-kind support representing what is by now an amount of over $35 million.

KWF cancer society
Alpe d’HuZes is a campaign in which cyclists, either individually or as a team, raise funds for the fight against cancer. Because of the many registrations in previous years, the event was now divided over two consecutive days. On the first day, a team can cycle up the legendary Alpe d’Huez a maximum of three times. A well-nigh impossible task that Team Valspar convincingly completed. The team members are currently considering their contribution to next year’s event.