The internal L&R Corporate Social Sponsoring (CSS Programme) programme ‘L&R charity – we connect’ was launched in September 2015. With this programme the L&R Group sponsors projects about which its employees are passionate and which strive to connect different generations. These projects also have a connection to L&R products or business activities and are of limited duration. Rauscher and the L&R Group is assisted in the execution of the project by an outside organisation that is based near an L&R site or carries out the project near an L&R site. Below you will find a description of some of the projects that have been completed successfully since this programme was established:
Shining with the stars 2.0
The torchlight concert put on by the band Rumpelstil in Koblenz is an open-air event for the whole family. In 2016 the charity event came to Koblenz for the very first time, initiated and organized by 'Bunter Kreis Rheinland e.V.'. L&R was one of the main sponsors upon request from the project promoter Petra Butter. Also, in 2017 L&R joined in again. In front of the setting of the German Corner right on the river Rhine an entertaining programme from face painting to a balloon contest left no wishes unfulfilled for over 2.000 visitors. Of course, the electric torchlights came out later on to sparkle and shine and to light up the night. As in the past all the profits from the event were raised for the benefit of families with severely ill children. We are very proud to keep on supporting this amazing charity event under the umbrella of our social and corporate engagement.
It is never too late to learn to swim
Under this motto L&R project promoter Anja Gasteiger organised swimming courses for young and old. In total 12 elderly people and 10 kids participated in five successive courses in order to learn swimming. The oldest participant was 86 years old, what a proud age! In the public swimming pool "WAVE" (Wörgl/Austria), everyone could practice and learn under professional guidance and supervision. Young and old supported each other eagerly in order to overcome any fear or doubts. Afterwards everyone joined in and together they ate the classical combination of French fries and ice cream. What a great way to spend time together! Very often the unexpected activities really bring generations together. This is why it is so important to us to be active and contribute in this matter.
Wound Care Consultation at the Neunerhaus
Since a while now we are working together with the Neunerhaus in Vienna, Austria on the basis of regular product donations. Hereby we can make a valuable contribution towards the medical care of homeless people and their loved four-legged companions. Due to a personal commitment of one of our employees, Ivana Augustinovic, we could now further contribute and support the Neunerhaus in a rather extraordinary matter. As nowadays everyone seems to be on the move and our countries experience a consistent migration, new challenges in the handling of homeless people came up. This being said, some may not be able to understand or speak any German e.g., therefore communication and consultation in the event of healthcare has become extremely challenging. In order to have an improved communication basis and understanding, the Neunerhaus invested in a video translation tool. We supported this project financially and are very proud to be part of such a great initiative. In 2017 thanks to the translation tool over 700 consultations have successfully been translated into 22 languages.
We are the champions…
On the second of May our colleagues in France organised in cooperation with the local kids football training centre and on initiative of the project promoter Morgan Chebion a football event day for kids and teachers of a children’s home in Epinal. The group visited the football training center of the football club AS Nancy-Lorraine as well as the Marcel-Picot football stadium. Within the afternoon all kids, no matter if young or old, did have the opportunity of coming really close to their football idols during an autograph session. Finally, as a further highlight everyone could choose a small present from the fan shop. What a great experience for everyone involved.
Building a home where needed - Congo
As we are operating worldwide, we don’t limit our corporate social responsibility to certain countries but take responsibility regardless of any borders. When Sonia Hamdi from our site in France approached us with her project, we were all deeply moved by her commitment and courage. She is the godmother of an orphan child from Mbuji Mayi and supports the association “Chemins d’Arc en Ciel” located near Servon/France. They take care of 25 schools, orphanages, maternity clinics and healthcare centers in the Congo/Africa. Besides financial support, the association highly depends on donations in form of books, pens, cloth, nutrition and also medical products for its healthcare centers. Currently they needed financial support in order to protect and further build up a new housing for orphans but also homeless people of different generations within the region Mbuji Mayi in the Congo. So, we took the opportunity to contribute to the heartwarming engagement of Sonia Hamdi.
Household shop for the needy
Just around the corner of the L&R headquarter in Rengsdorf, a very small but charming shop for the needy has its home base. The shop is run by a local union of the community in which our employee and project promoter Fabian Jacobi and his father are actively involved. He took the opportunity to approach “L&R Charity – we connect” for financial support in order to build up a meeting corner within the shop. With this the communication and support under everyone involved shall be enhanced. We happily joined in and helped to make the meeting corner reality. It is remarkable to say that all profit of the shop goes into social projects. So, the shop does not only support the needy with an affordable range of products and good, such as cutlery, glasses, etc. but also generates even more benefit by investing in further projects. Inspired by this great example of social community work we are thinking about to organize so called donation days in Rengsdorf where everyone can bring what she/he can spare which we would then pass on to the local shop for the needy.
Aim high: up to 3,700 meters in the Indian Himalayas
In collaboration with the charity Förderverein Sani Zanskar e. V. and Aachen University Hospital, a community centre with an independent power supply that is used as a medical clinic and a winter school was built in Sani (India) several years ago. This centre urgently required repairs due to the extreme weather conditions found in this remote village in the Himalayas. With L&R’s support at the instigation of project promoter Martin Pohl, some members of the Heimback-Weis scout troop travelled in August 2017 to India and rebuilt the community centre together with other volunteer helpers and residents of Sani.
Help for burn victims
After severe burns, it is not only physical scars that need to be tended to but also emotional ones. Both happen at Camp Samba, which took place in June 2017 near São Paulo (Brazil) and was geared toward children and adolescents aged 7 to 15. In addition to sharing medical information on scar care, there were group therapy sessions on learning how to cope with the psychological consequences of burns. There were also recreational activities that were supervised by adults who also had burns and thus were able to respond optimally to their charges. L&R supported this event thanks to the initiative of project promoter Sascha Eichert.
BenefitZ – Wir helfen Kindern e. V.
The charitable group BenefitZ has as its mission to collect funds for projects that benefit of children. The members represent the group at markets and events around Koblenz (Germany) where they sell high-quality hand-made goods such as bags and decorative objects. Due to increasing involvement, it became necessary to purchase industrial sewing machines and racks and transport crates. At the initiative of project promoter Ulrich Theis, L&R made these purchases possible in the summer of 2017.
Afternoon cooking classes with eight nations
Project promoter Margarete Leimberger has long volunteered in her free time at the afternoon child care programme at the Pedagogical Centre in Purkersdorf (Austria) where children with mental and/or physical disabilities are taught. Currently, children from eight countries study together there, so the idea was suggested to conduct intercultural afternoon cooking classes where siblings, parents and grandparents can all join in. In the spring of 2017, the students and their families enjoyed a wide variety of delicacies typical of each country.
Spend time together, learn from one another
In keeping with this motto, a generational garden was planted at the ‘Rainbow Land’ daycare centre in Niederbreitbach (Germany) at the initiative of L&R project promoter Steffen Brenner. Salad greens and different types of vegetables grow in the raised beds built in the spring of 2017 and berry bushes, grapevines and fruit trees were planted in the existing garden. The entire garden is grown by the children who attend the daycare, their siblings, parents, grandparents and seniors from the community.
Pre-Christmas Fire Show
In the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Mendig (Germany), every year during the advent season the ‘Pre-Christmas Fire Magic’ fundraiser is held. It has an entertaining programme for adults and kids, along with numerous culinary highlights. Proceeds from the market are donated to local child welfare groups. There had long been a plan in the works to build a covered parking area where materials can be stored or, if the weather is bad, part of the ‘Fire Magic’ market can be relocated under a shelter out of the weather. At the initiative of project promoter Harald Frank, L&R financed the covered parking area that was built in record time in the autumn of 2016 thanks to many volunteers and was first used for the ‘Fire Magic’ event during the 2016 advent season.
Preparation for any eventuality
In the Czech town of Ostrava in the spring and autumn of 2016, two rounds of first aid classes were offered to grandparents that taught them first aid techniques specifically for their (grand)children. In addition to learning new information, the grandparents were also given comprehensive informational material to use as a reference at home so they can refresh their knowledge any time on their own. The classes were very popular and filled up very quickly and Czech television even reported on the involvement of L&R project promoter Tomáš Folkner, who had initiated and organised the classes.
Shining with the stars!
The torch concert put on by the band Rumpelstil in Koblenz (Germany) is geared toward the whole family: Against the backdrop of the Deutsches Eck headland right on the Rhine river, visitors can enjoy entertaining side events ranging from face painting to a balloon contest. The high point of the evening and the concert, however, is the song during which concert goers shine electric torches they have brought and the concert venue twinkles as brightly as the starry night. Profits from the event go to the Bunter Kreis Rheinland e. V., which helps families with severely ill children. At the initiative of L&R project promoter Petra Butter, L&R was the main sponsor of the event in 2016.
Lively exchange between school and nursing home
In early 2016 the Elisabethstift school in Berlin (Germany) had the idea to organise afternoon get-togethers for playing music and doing creative activities for the students and residents of a nearby nursing home, and L&R provided the funds for musical instruments and creative craft supplies. These music and creative afternoons have now become an established part of the social life of the school and the nursing home and are being continued every school year. As well as a craft club in which the students make little presents for the seniors, there are little concerts and foster grandparent relationships have formed between the children and seniors and the seniors attend school events such as the summer fête and a Christmas church service. With the help of project promoter Eva Ebert, L&R was thus able to kick start a project which has now taken on a life of its own and is continuing on without financial assistance from L&R.
Welcome and hello
In the summer of 2016, L&R project promoter Anja Gasteiger organised a number of outings in Tirol (Austria) for refugees of all ages, children and adults from Tirol and the residents of two local nursing homes. During the leisure activities, such as trips to alpine meadows and boat trips, the participants got to know each other and friendships and foster grandparent relationships quickly formed: In addition to providing a now reliable source of assistance with, for example, homework, dealing with the authorities or searching for an apartment, foster grandparent relationships formed between unaccompanied children and adolescents and the seniors, with both sides benefiting.
A gathering place for adults and kids
On 30 September 2016 the children’s hospice Kinderhospiz Cuxhaven-Bremerhaven e. V. (Germany) opened. It provides care for terminally ill children and their parents and siblings as well as support for grieving children and for parents who have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth. In addition to grief counselling for however long an individual needs, the goal is also to create a friendly atmosphere that helps ease the transition to daily life after the mourning phase. An important part of creating this atmosphere was setting up a play space as a gathering spot for children, families and volunteers, where everyone can spend their free time together. On the initiative of project promoter Karima Köppen, L&R helped make this project a reality.
Aid for Belarus
The non-profit organisation Freu(n)de für Belarus e. V. in Heimbach-Weis (Germany) has for the last 25 years been helping those who live in areas in Belarus that are still contaminated with radiation. In the summer, a programme is run specifically for children to visit non-irradiated areas in Germany for three weeks, and this stay is also always used for doctor’s visits and purchasing needed items. L&R project promoter Fabian Jacobi has a family connection to the non-profit charity because his grandparents are founding members. Through his involvement, in the summer of 2016 L&R paid the expenses of about 60 children to travel from Belarus to Neuwied, where they were cared for by members of the non-profit charity during their respite stay.
Exercise and play for all ages
In the spring of 2016, the community of Niederzissen (Germany) planned the construction of a multigenerational playground that would not only be a place for children to play but also would have fitness equipment for adults. Furthermore, some of the equipment is designed specifically to meet the needs of seniors. Thanks to the instigation of project promoter Armin Retterath, L&R assumed some of the costs. The playground opened in April 2016 and has since become a gathering spot for members of the community.
Advent event for a good cause
The Christmas House in Neuwied (Germany) is a gathering place for young and old alike every year during the Christmas season. At the initiative of project promoter Meikel Rockenfeller, in December 2015 L&R financed the purchase of a variety of decoration materials and consumer goods. Proceeds from the Christmas House are traditionally donated to the ‘Help us live’ campaign, an initiative of the Rhein-Zeitung newspaper in Koblenz, which received a donation of EUR 8,000 in 2015.
Are you an L&R employee and do you have a project you are passionate about that we can sponsor?
Then become a project promoter and submit it to CSS@LRmed.com !