Over a year and a half ago, we joined forces with Roda JC to work together towards a better future for the Parkstad region and the club. This collaboration resulted in a new vision document called ‘Opstaan | Aanpakken’ (‘Rise Up | Take Action’) in the summer of 2022. In addition to the sporting ambitions, we established a social ambition to be of value to the region every day. Our preliminary research showed that the perceived health in the Parkstad region lags behind the average of the Limburg province by 5.7%. The difference with the national average is even greater. In the past season, Roda JC already contributed to improving health in the region through a large number of projects and activities, with providing vegetables and fruits to primary schools being the most well-known example. The platform ‘Gezond in Mijn Streek’ (‘Healthy in My Region’) was created to showcase these activities.

Recently, More2Win assessed that closing the gap in perceived health is worth hundreds of millions annually for society in this region. This provides even more reason for Roda JC and their partners to continue their efforts in this area. To strengthen this mission and attract more partners, the ‘Gezond in Mijn Streek’ platform is now visible on the match shirts of Roda JC. A fantastic milestone! We are extremely proud to have achieved this and are filled with energy to continue the catch-up race that the Parkstad region needs to make. Special thanks to Jordens Peters, Ard van Peppen, Maurice Kleuters, and Jaimy Mullenders for their trust. Let this be the starting point for even more social impact!