Donations instead of gifts

A tree binds CO2 and provides oxygen. A tree provides shade and habitat for animals. A single tree doesn't make a forest, but a single idea can make one. The donation was used to plant a 12,000 m² fallow land. Olaf Lingnau - the originator of the idea and managing director of the holding company - has found a partner in the city of Iserlohn on which he can build. Or rather: plant. "The Blumenbecker Group takes responsibility for present and future generations. We want to leave our children an environment worth living in. In the city of Iserlohn we have found a partner to put sustainable thinking into practice. Step by step into a future worth living," Lingnau affirms.

The home of Lea, Lucas and their two daughters Leonie (5 years) and Luisa (1.5 years) is 350 metres away from the Ahr river. The Deißler family only moved into the house in March of this year after extensive renovation and conversion work. But after the night of the flood on 14 July, not much is left. The basement and the ground floor up to the 1st gallery to the upper floor were flooded. Their lovely furnished home was completely destroyed. For days they shovelled out the mud that the Ahr brought with it in its flood.

Hubertus Grote, Head of Industrial Assembly & Service at Blumenbecker Automatisierungstechnik GmbH, became aware of the "Helfer-Shuttle" organisation via Facebook and volunteered. He used his holiday and drove to the Ahr Valley on 9 September. Together with other helpers, he was assigned to the house of the Deißler family. With hammer drill in hand, he and the helpers lifted the plaster from the walls and the screed from the floor.

"The flood in the Ahr valley was several months ago and has almost been forgotten by the media. With our 10,000 euros, which we are donating directly to the Deißler family, we want to support the family in finding a home again in their home," explains Richard Mayer, spokesman for the management.

The year 2020 will bring new challenges for him and his colleagues at the GRC. "This year has demanded a lot of us. But it is a good feeling to be able to help," says Kattner happily. The 2,500 euros donated will be used to purchase mats and exercise defibrillators for first-aid courses. The new exercise mats are easier to disinfect, which is more important now than ever. Lars Gaicki, Team Coordinator First Aid and Fire Protection at the German Red Cross in Hannover, emphasises the importance of more defibrillators: "After current hygiene measures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the only possible practical exercise in first-aid courses and more equipment means more practice time for each individual participant".

Of course the work does not only consist of first aid courses. The GRC is also dedicated to social work, refugee assistance, nursing, rescue service, homeless assistance, youth work and much more. The team of Lars Gaicki and Michael Kattner consists of eight full-time and 45 volunteers. By the way; the first principle on which the work of the GRC is based is: humanity. That says it all.

Further information about the GRC Region Hannover can be found here: www.drk-hannover.de

If there is no hope of healing, children need professional help - medically and emotionally. Parents and relatives also need strength and solace. The Children's Hospice Bärenherz is a medical facility that accommodates families with seriously ill children - from the moment the illness is diagnosed.

With over 60 employees, mainly in the nursing, psychosocial and therapeutic areas, the care, support and accompaniment of the children and families is guaranteed. Even after the death of the child, the relatives continue to be cared for and accompanied. Professional support in a quiet atmosphere means a piece of quality of life for the children - day after day.

Ralf Herzog, managing director of Blumenbecker Technik GmbH, visited the children's hospice for the first time over two years ago for an event organised by the dog club. The children were able to play with the dogs and forget their worries and fears for a short time. Since then, he and his wife have maintained contact with the children's hospice. "Here, the children are the focus of attention in order to make their time in life more worth living. With our donation, we are supporting the hospice, just as we did in 2018," explains Herzog. 

Further information about the Children's Hospice Bärenherz in Leipzig can be found here: www.baerenherz-leipzig.de

Support for mother-child clinic

Doctors and nurses train the Eritrean hospital staff. Technicians provide electricity and water and maintain the necessary medical equipment. Most children still die because they have no access to basic medical care. There are too few doctors, clinics and medicines and hardly any health education.

In Keren, the capital of the Anseba region, a new mother-child clinic is currently being built. The shell of the building is finished. The electrical cables have been laid, as have the sanitary pipes. The emergency power generator is installed. With up to four hours of power failure every day, the Eritrean power supply is unfortunately anything but secure. But the electricity must be reliably available for operations and for the premature babies' warming beds. A photovoltaic system is to be installed to bridge the power failures, because there is enough sun in Eritrea. Unfortunately, only part of the costs will be covered. A large part must be financed by donations. With the donation of 5,000 euros, Blumenbecker would like to help ensure that the plant can be implemented as quickly as possible. Gottfried Moehring, a retired former employee of Blumenbecker Automatisierungstechnik GmbH, was still on site in October 2019 - as a technician. He has been working for ARCHEMED as an honorary assistant since 2013." » The children have grown close to my heart. I can help and see that the help arrives «, Gottfried Moehring is pleased.

Further information about ARCHEMED can be found here: www.archemed.org

But not only in distant Africa, there are also children in Germany who urgently need help.

The organisation Lichtblicke has existed since 1988 and was founded by the 45 NRW local radio stations, the supporting programme Radio NRW, the Caritas associations of the five NRW bishoprics and the Diakonie Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe.

People from North Rhine-Westphalia who have to endure heavy blows of fate and cannot escape their plight on their own, donate Lichtblicke e.V. hope and help. The help is individual and very versatile:

Sometimes the money donated pays for the renovation of the apartment or the purchase of a washing machine so that the laundry no longer has to be washed by hand. Another time, Lichtblicke makes it possible to rebuild a severely ill child in a way that is suitable for the handicapped or to finance urgently needed treatments and therapy materials. Volunteers have taken over learning sponsorships for disadvantaged pupils in order to give them free tutoring. Learning and exercise materials are purchased from the donations.

With the "Lichtblicke Ferien-Tour" children who only know holidays from hearsay have the opportunity to take part in excursions and events that bring fun and joy into their sad world.

Also so-called "lighthouse projects" are promoted - apart from the assistance in individual cases. The aim here is to offer children and young people new perspectives on life. The project "Klang meines Körper NRW © - kreative Wege zur Prävention und Überwindung von Ess-Störungen" (Sound of my body NRW © - creative ways to prevent and overcome eating disorders) is an educational project and provides help.

Our donation of 5,000 euros is intended to help those who cannot help themselves. "The action is a true ray of hope for the future of disadvantaged children and families. We are happy to support this," says Richard Mayer, CEO of the Blumenbecker Group comfirms.

Further information about the campaign Lichtblicke can be found here: www.lichtblicke.de