Rhenus News

Rhenus hands over donations from the Rhenus Run Club to CARE

2,715 participants, 24,341.94 kilometres run and a fundraising total of EUR 25,000. These are the results that the Rhenus Group achieved with its global charity run, the ‘Rhenus Run Club – Charity Edition’. At the end of November, the fruits of these efforts were presented to representatives of the aid organisation CARE Germany in the form of a donation cheque.

‘In times like these, when one disaster follows another, it’s good to have a partner like Rhenus at your side,’ said Stefan Ewers, Deputy Secretary General and Member of the Board at CARE Germany, during the donation handover. Ewers and Judith Albert, Corporate Cooperation Officer, were welcomed by Rhenus Management Board Member Dr Stephan Peters at the company’s headquarters in Holzwickede. The CARE representatives talked in particular about their work in disaster relief and their commitment to social justice.  

Decisions as to where CARE helps, and what means they use to do so, are ideally taken according to the needs of the people, Ewers explained. Nevertheless, public reporting often has an influence on where donations are channelled. The Rhenus Run Club’s decision not to tie the donation to a specific purpose therefore makes a particular difference in combating grievances that do not receive much media attention. ‘As an NGO, we have to make a 25 per cent contribution to projects ourselves. Unrestricted donations such as those from Rhenus enable us to apply for support from public funds,’ explained Judith Albert. ‘So 25,000 euros from Rhenus means 100,000 euros for local people.’

The way in which the donation amount was raised was described by Dr Stefan Peters and Run Club co-organiser Friedrich Schneider, using numerous success stories and photographs of the participants. Dr Peters also attributed the great motivation which Rhenus employees displayed to the international orientation of the Rhenus Group: ‘As a global family business, we want to live up to our social responsibility towards people across national borders.’ Supporting CARE and its non-partisan and non-religious commitment in all cultural spheres therefore fits in all the better with the corporate values of the logistics service provider.

The highlight of the meeting between Rhenus and CARE was the handover of the donations with the symbolic presentation of a CARE package. In keeping with the beginnings of the aid organisation, which sent out aid packages for the affected civilian population throughout Europe after the Second World War, the package is to stand for acute aid for people in disaster situations.