Kesko makes a major donation of exercise gear to Finnish schools: 2,600 bags filled with the joy of play for school breaks!

"This is a good way to begin the Christmas season," said Matti Halmesmäki, Kesko's President and CEO, when he handed a big bag to Emma, Miika and Olli, second form pupils of the Torpparinmäki school in Helsinki. His words were supported by the enthusiasm of the children opening the bag to find skipping ropes, tag belts, a frisbee, different balls, bats and sticks, mini goals and markers. A total of 2,600 school classes won an exercise gear bag in the raffle that was part of the campaign organised by the Young Finland Association and Kesko.

"The donated equipment will bring joy and play to schoolyards. They will add to the possibilities of even the most barren schoolyards, encourage play and games and also teach joint responsibility for taking care of them," said Teemu Japisson, Secretary General of the Young Finland Association. In his opinion, this exercise equipment inspires activity during every break, which easily covers half of the recommended two hours of daily physical exercise.

Encouraging activity during breaks is one way of supporting healthy lifestyles

The aim of the campaign realised by the Young Finland Association and Kesko at the turn of October and November was to increase schoolchildren's physical activity during breaks. A total of 166,000 schoolchildren, 9,000 teachers and 1,950 schools participated in the campaign.

"Children's healthy eating habits and physical exercise are important things which Kesko and the K-stores want to promote in practice. The donation of exercise gear is part of the campaign 'Use your K-Plussa card to put children on the move', whose target is to raise a total of 500,000 euros for supporting children's healthy lifestyles," says Matti Halmesmäki, Kesko's President and CEO.

Part of the raffle prizes of the campaign were presented to school classes in events arranged in Helsinki, Kuopio, Turku, Oulu, Tampere and Lappeenranta. The rest of the 2,600 exercise gear bags donated by Kesko will be delivered to the winners by the end of the year.

Further information:

Campaign information and the winning classes: http://www.nuorisuomi.fi/vipinaavalkalle
Vipinää ja välineitä välkälle! logo: http://www.nuorisuomi.fi/logor?ryhma=10.0
Photos of the exercise gear bag and the donation event: http://www.nuorisuomi.fi/kuvaarkisto?aika=2007#143

Kesko Corporation
Sanna Haikonen, Contact Manager, +358 50 331 2039
Anna Koroma-Mikkola, Communications Officer, +358 50 389 3699

Young Finland Association
Jukka Karvinen, Development Director, +358 400 617 532
Elina Nevalainen, Development Manager, +358 40 591 6835
Annemi Usva-Vänttinen, Contact Manager, Communications, +358 400 465 020

Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers through valued products and services at competitive prices. Kesko operates in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Russia.

The Young Finland Association is an independent organisation, whose main objective is to promote children's and youths' well-being and joy of life by means of physical activity. The Association consists of 53 nationwide member federations. Its most important co-operation partners are Silja Line, the K-Group and Veikkaus.Further information at www.nuorisuomi.fi