Every year sailing ships of all types and sizes and from different countries travel during the second weekend of August to the coastal city of Rostock in Germany for the Hanse Sail—the largest maritime festival in Germany and one of the largest in Europe.

An important part of the festival is a charity biking event called the Hanse-Tour Sonnenschein e.V. (or Hanse eV Sunshine Tour), which raises funds for chronically ill children, especially those suffering from cancer and leukemia.

The event involves a 450 kilometer bike ride over four days, starting on the Wednesday before Hanse Sail and ending on the following Saturday.

A supporter of the event in past years, CGI also took part in this year’s event, which took place on August 8-10, by donating more than 2,000 euros ($2,660). Senior Consultant Uwe Hering also participated as a rider, as he’s done in previous years. Overall, the event raised more than 100,000 euro ($133,023).

One hundred percent of all proceeds of the ride go to various causes that help improve the lives of seriously ill children and their families. Past projects funded by the event include the purchase of lung function testing equipment and start-up money to fund a palliative care program and a child psychologist position.

“My motivation for participating comes from a desire to support suffering children, especially within the region where I live,” shared Uwe. “Meeting children in the hospital and realizing that we can help them in significant ways is a life-changing experience and generates energy and drive to continue supporting this tour.”

“The best part of this year’s event was when all 200 bikers gathered at the end to announce ‘live’ on stage and on TV the final amount of funds raised and then sang together the heart-warming ‘Hanse Tour Song’ surrounded by the majestic Hanse Sail boats. I’m grateful to work for a company like CGI that supports such great causes worldwide.”