When his colleague Thijs Slegers announced that he had leukemia, PSV scout Paul van Tetenhove came up with the idea of raising money for stem cell donors. He has now climbed the Alpe d’Huez to raise money for Matchis, the Dutch center for stem cell donors. “Thijs knew about the action and wished me good luck and happiness. That still touches me enormously,” he told the local news site Dtv Nieuws.
“It was really epic,” Paul reflects. “I already had the feeling beforehand that my head was already at the top. That was really true: I started walking and I didn’t stop.”
In thoughts of Thijs Slegers
So Paul walked up the mountain at a rapid pace. “While walking, all kinds of thoughts came to mind. At every turn I thought of Thijs, it still makes me silent.”
Paul found support with his own slogan: ‘a winner doesn’t give up and a quitter never wins’. The idea stems from a difficult period for Paul himself. In August 2021, he was diagnosed with melanoma cancer. With intensive treatments and physiotherapy he recovered. “I trained a lot and that’s why I’m in great shape now.” In addition, it also gave him an important realization: “It taught me never to give up.”
Your own number
A song was also released to provide additional support for his initiative. Music formation Smiyes, who knows Paul personally, decided to support the campaign. They now released the song ‘Let Me Be’, which this music duo had written some time ago, and linked it to the action. Every time the song is listened to, all proceeds go to Matchis.
100,000 euros
Paul has so far raised 13,000 euros with the campaign. A nice amount, but not enough for the PSV scout. “I want to continue the campaign, because in total I want to raise a hundred thousand for Matchis.” He therefore calls on people to all donate one euro. He also expects to do more of these kinds of actions: “I will continue to run for Matchis all my life,” he says firmly. He admits that this may be on the back burner later in life, but he is sure that he will not let go of the goal.
Paul’s action can be supported by Smiyes’ number to listen or through a make a donation on Paul’s sponsor page.