From charitable cyclists to meals on wheels, here's The Brussels Times' weekly round-up of positive news stories from across Belgium to kickstart your weekend.
Today's positive pick
The popular VRT cycling programme Vive le vélo ('Long Live Cycling') has raised almost €440,000 for the Flemish cancer charity Kom Op Tegen Kanker ('Stand Up To Cancer'), the main organiser Karl Vannieuwkerke announced on Thursday.
Vannieuwkerke has long been the face of Vive le vélo, offering participants six cycling routes that wind through the province of West Flanders.
The six routes each have their own colour and are dotted with informative videos about the region and its cycling history along the way. There are routes tailored to each cyclist, ranging from 28 km for families to 171 km for more experienced cyclists.
Aside from satisfying budding cyclists, Vive le vélo are also keen charity fundraisers and have just announced that they will be donating no less than €439,604 to the Kom Op Tegen Kanker (KOTK) charity with their SMS initiative, almost doubling last year's record of €249,373. "Never before have we raised so much money for charity in one edition," a social media post read.
The SMS initiative encouraged people to send a text message to 4342 to donate €1 to the Flemish charity and be entered into a prize draw. Every day there was a signed jersey to be won from a rider.
Mathieu van der Poel, Poupou's grandson, having finished Stage 9 of the Tour de France. Credit: Merci Poupou
There was also a special Merci Poupou bike from Canyon up for grabs, on which Dutch cyclist Mathieu Van der Poel rode Stage 9 of the Tour de France. He did so in honour of his late grandfather and Tour de France legend Raymond Poulidor, endearingly nicknamed Poupou.
Frieda Feyaerts from Kessel-Lo (Leuven) was the winner of the coveted Merci Poupou bike, having sent one of more than 225,000 text messages for a chance to win the gem.
The biggest win
In response to the nearly €440,000 raised, Vannieuwkerke said "fundraising for cancer research is crucial. This was made very clear to me once again when I was struck by cancer myself in 2014. It was a no brainer to make KOTK the charity of Vive le Vélo from 2015."
He continued: "The fact that we have raised this amount in three weeks is pure madness and we would never have dared to dream. Thank you, cycling-loving Flanders. Your heart is big!'
KOTK General Director David Vansteenbrugge added that it was "amazing how the Vive le vélo team brought thousands of people together in our common fight against cancer. We are so grateful for all the donated items and the hundreds of thousands of text messages that made this possible."
Vansteenbrugge praised the SMS initiative for raising a "monumental amount of money that we can use to fund life-saving research" and that "we must relentlessly persevere in working towards a world where we no longer lose loved ones to cancer."
To find out more about 'Vive le vélo', see here.
Other stories from this week to make you smile:
1. First Carrefour robot delivery service in Europe trialled in Knokke-Heist
In a first for Europe, Carrefour will deliver groceries with fully-autonomous robots in the coastal Flemish city of Knokke-Heist. Read more here.
2. Meals on wheels: Brussels tram experience returns with culinary tour
The unique Tram Experience, which invites people aboard one of Brussels' iconic trams for a gastronomic tour of the capital, will return this September with a new concept. Read more here.
3. AIDS deaths worldwide more than halved in 12 years
The number of AIDS deaths across the world in 2022 was estimated to be less than half of those in 2010, falling from some 1.3 million 12 years ago to 630,000 last year, a UN report shows. Read more here.
4. Belgian athlete hopes to beat world record for non-stop swimming in sea
Belgian extreme sports athlete Matthieu Bonne has become known for breaking records. Now, he has set his sights on a new attempt to have his name put up in the hall of sports fame. Read more here.
