Audi employees donate more than 416,000 euro, the company topped up the total to 800,000 euro.
Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources Sabine Maassen: “In addition to emergency relief, we hope our donations will advance the long-term reconstruction efforts in the flood-hit regions.”
Chairman of the General Works Council Peter Mosch: “We live social responsibility and solidarity, even beyond our factory doors.”
Audi and employees donate a total of 800,000 euro to aid those affected by severe flooding in 2021. In July, intense rains and flooding ravaged many areas of Germany, including Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, and southern Bavaria. To aid the distressed, the company and the Works Council issued a call for donations.
Between July 22 to September 10, 2021 some 4,000 Audi employees in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm answered the call, donating generously a total of 416,178.93 euro. Their employer then topped up the donations to a six-figure sum: In this way, Audi and its employees were able to support the flood-ravaged regions to the amount of 800,000 euro. Beyond this, many Audi employees also got involved privately – either through financial contributions or on-the-ground manual support.
Audi supports more than 20 organizations
One share of the donation amount will go to non-profit social welfare organizations in the crisis areas of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate to aid long-term reconstruction projects of the local social infrastructure.
This includes kindergartens such as the St. Hildegard daycare center in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler and the Zauberkiste and Mäuseburg daycare centers in Stolberg, which need to renovate their outdoor areas and indoor facilities. But sports clubs like Turn- und Sportverein Ahrweiler 1898 e.V. or TSV 1863 Herdecke e.V. also received financial support to help overhaul their club grounds and purchase new athletics equipment.
Thanks to the donation, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) in Euskirchen and Linden-Dahlhausen was able to purchase new life-saving equipment, including a new motor lifeboat.
Ahrweiler county fire departments will receive aid for reconstruction efforts as well as for purchasing vital firefighting equipment. In addition, hospice and civic associations such as Mobil mit Behinderung e.V. in Jockgrim also received a portion of the Audi donation to ensure they can continue to provide mobility and care services.
The other share of the donation amount went to five major aid organizations that are engaged across Germany in helping flood victims and reconstruction efforts. The German aid association Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V. received a generous donation to aid their emergency relief efforts, as did the German Red Cross and the German Caritas Association.
Other charitable organizations to aid those affected by the severe flooding included the Evangelisches Werk für Diakone und Entwicklung e.V. and the German Parity Welfare Association.
“We live social responsibility”
“Our employees’ generosity demonstrates how deep the culture of togetherness is anchored in our company. In addition to emergency relief, we hope our donations will advance the long-term reconstruction efforts in the flood-hit regions and thus make a small contribution to help affected cities and counties overcome the crisis,” emphasizes Sabine Maassen, Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources at AUDI AG.
“The solidarity that our employees demonstrated has again shown how much they believe in standing together and helping one another. We live social responsibility and solidarity, even beyond our factory doors and this donation drive,” says Peter Mosch. The Audi Chairman of the General Works Council also expressed his thanks for the generous donations, emphasizing: “Every euro that you donated is going exactly where it is needed most.”
Audi Brussels also makes generous donation
Dueto the devastating effects the floods had in Belgium, Audi Brussels also called for employees at its location to donate. The generous employees and a top-up from the company donated a total amount of 25,000 euro. The Belgian Red Cross received the entire amount to aid their emergency relief efforts.
More social responsibility from the four rings
As a good corporate citizen, AUDI AG has continually taken on social responsibility at its production sites for many years. With volunteer events like Audi Freiwilligentag and TeamAktionen, the brand is encouraging its employees to assume social responsibility – such as by getting involved in charities in the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm regions.
Even digital, remote projects are possible. Audi has set up an online platform where employees can find projects and sign up to help. Under its corporate citizenship strategy, the company regularly supports social welfare institutions with donations and is a regional sports and culture sponsor.
