L&R Charity – We connect: This is the name of our Corporate Social Sponsoring programme, and we have been supporting international projects that bring different generations together under this title since 2015.
The special thing about this is that we are supporting projects close to our colleagues’ hearts. And bringing old and young together is a primary focus here. As a group of companies that understands the values of a family business, this is extremely important for us.
In 2024, we were once again able to support great projects close to our colleagues' hearts.
For example, the project of a colleague from Vienna. She is involved in younus Mentoring (younus.at). Since 2012, the organisation has been bringing together children, young people and parents who lack a caregiver in their lives with a mentor. Our colleague is involved there as a mentor in a charitable capacity and has developed a concept with the organisation that aims to connect older people with young people even more.
L&R is supporting this wonderful project idea and the other younus initiatives with EUR 11,960.00.
In August 2024, we were once again able to take part in the torch concert in Koblenz with our Teddy Consultation Hour. We supported the annual family concert, which is organised by the Bunte Kreis (www.bunterkreis.de), with EUR 1,785.00.
We look forward to welcoming visitors young and old to the L&R stand again in 2025.
The popular excursion area Kleiner Wäller Vitalparcours (www.wiedtal.de) is located in the forests of Rengsdorf, Hadert and Bonefeld and is popular with young and old alike.
The sports equipment already available there was not suitable for every visitor to the course. To ensure that as many exercise enthusiasts as possible get their money's worth, the municipalities have set themselves the goal of upgrading the pacours by purchasing additional equipment.
We are pleased to be able to support the municipalities with a sum of EUR 1,000.00 for the purchase of new equipment.
And another favourite project from Germany that we are proud to support.
The ‘GEMeinsam SCHULWÄRTS - Grundschulkinder im Huckepack’ project has been a cooperation project between the Neuwied multigenerational house (mgh-neuwied.de), the south-eastern city centre neighbourhood management and Lions Hilfe Neuwied Andernach e.V. for many years.
These are mainly sprightly pensioners who want to pass on their knowledge and make good use of their free time by helping children with learning difficulties with their homework. This is also a welcome change for the children, who often come from educationally disadvantaged families.
Because not enough sponsors had yet been found and the continuation of the project was not assured, an L&R colleague submitted her favourite project to CSS.
A great project that L&R is supporting with EUR 860.00.
Product Donations 2024
In 2024, the world was unfortunately again confronted with numerous armed conflicts / wars and different natural disasters at various place: floods, hurricanes, the conflicts in Ukraine, in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan etc. Together with our partner organizations, we try to support the victims of these terrible events as well as people in other places of need with extensive product donations.
In total, about 700 pallets were handed over to 18 organizations for distribution in 32 countries in 2024. The focus remains on Ukraine.
Forest kindergarten group of the kindergarten
The forest kindergarten group at the Anhausen kindergarten in Rhineland-Palatinate is regularly visited by local pensioners. They do handicrafts, cook and bake together.
When the weather was bad, the forest kindergarten group children found shelter in an outdated, discarded portacabin. It was no longer safe for young and old and a new shelter was needed.
This request gave rise to our L&R colleague's project of heart: In place of the old portacabin, a yurt was to become the new shelter for the children and senior citizens.
With his well-founded CSS project submission and his commitment, he was able to convince the entire L&R CSS committee and secure the purchase of a new yurt with 9,000 euros
Cancer can affect anyone. It is just as important as the medical treatment that affected women and girls regain self-confidence and a good feeling for their own body and appearance during and after the therapies.
The non-profit organization “feel again”(https://www.feelagain.at/) from Austria offers free make-up courses to girls and women suffering from cancer.
In order to be able to offer participants a comfortable space, they also rent premises. Our L&R colleague is passionate about the association's concept. She championed the idea of the association. Her commitment was supported by L&R with 5,000 euros.
Product Donations 2023
Cancer can affect anyone. It is just as important as the medical treatment that affected women and girls regain self-confidence and a good feeling for their own body and appearance during and after the therapies.
The non-profit organization “feel again”(https://www.feelagain.at/) from Austria offers free make-up courses to girls and women suffering from cancer.
In order to be able to offer participants a comfortable space, they also rent premises. Our L&R colleague is passionate about the association's concept. She championed the idea of the association. Her commitment was supported by L&R with 5,000 euros.
At the beginning of 2022, we received a project submission from a colleague in Germany. He is a dedicated volunteer firefighter in Damscheid. In March, L&R supported the generation weekend of the three ages sections of the fire brigade with 3,000 euros. During the weekend, the fire pond was cleared of dead wood and new signage was installed for the forest nature trail.
In spring also the project of a colleague from France was completed. The intention of his project was to facilitate contact between nursing home residents and their relatives in times of pandemic, when face2face visits are/were not possible. To improve exchange, iPads were purchased. L&R supported this project of heart with 1,500 euros.
The kindergarten in Bad Hönnigen / Germany regularly visits the nearby centre for senior citizens to make music together. Unfortunately, a few musical instruments were missing. A colleague took this as an opportunity to submit his project idea. With L&R's support, musical instruments worth 500 euros could be bought.
Product donations: For the victims of the Ukraine war and beyond!
Never before in the history of L&R we have donated as many products as in 2022! The all-dominant conflict in 2022 and therefore the target country for most donated items was Ukraine. This year, a total of more than 450 pallets of medical products were donated - almost 300 of them went to Ukraine and its neighbouring countries. Above all, our subsidiary L&R Croatia was extraordinarily committed to helping the victims of the Ukraine war. Summing up all donations to Ukraine, our commitment is worth more than 835,000 euros!
Read more about L&R's support for Ukraine here.
The other donation products were handed to our fixed partner organisations, that supported victims of wars, natural disasters or disadvantaged people in 32 countries around the world.
- In early 2021, we were able to provide support for a colleague from France with 1,000 euros for her Project in the Congo in Africa. This provided financing towards building accommodation for homeless people and orphans there.
- An idea from a colleague from our site in Germany was financed too. He was working to ensure that the multi-generational house in Neuwied was able to obtain plants and other materials for its Generation Garden, and make it blossom. A lot could be bought with 7,000 euros.
- Again in the first months of the year, we were able to provide Neuwied Zoo with 6,000 euros of support for purchasing plants - support that was very important, especially in the wake of those difficult months when the zoo was unable to welcome any visitors. A committed colleague of ours from Rengsdorf submitted the project and secured our support.
- An entire L&R team from Austria was heavily involved in organising games and craft afternoons for multiple generations in the SenaCura Group's retirement homes. Of course, it is important to have the right materials, such as games and craft materials that can be used by young and old alike. L&R rewarded this idea with 2,500 euros.
- Residents of St. Joseph Home in the Czech Republic (who are sufferers of multiple sclerosis) will be given the opportunity to attend cultural and experience events. This was the heartfelt desire of our Czech colleagues. L&R fulfilled this wish by offering 5,000 euros. The residents already enjoyed one trip in autumn with more to follow.
- The Freundeskreis der Lebensmittelretter e.V. association in Germany urgently needed a new cold store for food donated to both the young and the old. Two committed colleagues submitted their marvellous project idea and received a sponsorship payment of 3,000 euros towards it.
- Another of our German colleagues felt it was important to encourage acceptance between generations. He was promised 5,000 euros for the revival of the sports club NDKV in Niederdürenbach. The funds will be used to purchase various types of gymnastics equipment for intergenerational gymnastics groups.
- Under the title “Poor & Rich”, an exhibition at the Dom Museum in Vienna deals with the contrasts between poverty and wealth. A Viennese colleague was looking to support special guided tours, where seniors and children can learn from one another. An amount of 5,100 euros was allocated to make it possible to provide suitable accompanying material for the exhibition visitors.
L&R product donations and special donations
For many years the L&R Group has been donating products via our partner organisations (e.g. Humedica e. V., Human Plus e. V., Caritas Wien, Hilfswerk Wien, Partenariat 57, Diospi Suyana) to regions and people in need. More than 200 pallets in total were delivered from our logistics centres in Germany, Austria and France in 2021! Our donated products are being used in more than 30 countries.
What’s more, we are also there to help at very short notice when tragic events occur in countries where L&R is present. This is what happened this year, for example, following the natural disasters in Germany (floods), the Czech Republic (tornadoes) and Algeria (forest fires). Here L&R supported aid organisations, institutions, communities or people directly on the ground with special donations.
L&R commitment after the floods in Germany
Shortly after the terrible events in July of this year, an emergency relief team was formed at L&R. The L&R Executive Board provided the team with 75,000 euros in order to provide fast, bureaucracy-free help in the affected areas in the Ahr valley. In order to give our international colleagues the opportunity to donate as well, an L&R donation account was set up for the campaign for the first time. A total of 11,000 euros was paid into this account. In addition, colleagues donated a team bonus worth 15,000 euros.
All in all, L&R was able to provide support where help was needed most, with a total donation of over 100,000 euros. This sum was used to finance a wide range of things, such as first aid kits for those assisting on scene, purchasing food for the soup kitchen to help provide supplies for affected people and those helping on the ground, procuring working materials (shovels, wheelbarrows, work gloves, for organisations and private teams of aid staff), overnight accommodation in a nearby hotel for people suddenly made homeless, buying toys and ice cream to support a holiday camp for affected children, playground equipment for the completely destroyed outdoor area of the DRK specialist clinic for children and young people with psychiatric disorders in Bad Neuenahr, and a monetary donation to 21 families from Dernau whose houses were so badly damaged that complete renovation was necessary.
L&R’s commitment after the tornado in the Czech Republic
On the evening of 24 June 2021, a tornado with wind speeds of up to 400 km/h left a path of devastation 26 kilometres long and up to 700 metres wide in the south-east of the Czech Republic. 6 people lost their lives, 200 were injured. More than 1200 houses were damaged.
As a company in the healthcare sector and a provider of medical devices, it was immediately clear how L&R could initially help the victims of the tornado. We donated medical devices for acute care to the hospitals in Břeclav and Hodonín. Our employees also started collecting money for the victims of the tornado the day after the disaster, and soon after that they were also able to make a monetary donation through their pay slips. L&R Czech Republic and the Executive Board of the L&R group quickly decided to provide additional help to the affected region and the people living there. L&R donated a total of CZK 1 million to the three badly-affected villages of Moravská Nová Ves, Lužice and Hrušky. By making this contribution, we are providing long-term support for the reconstruction works, and are trying to do our bit to help secure a future for these people and villages.
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 !