The images and news reports coming out of Turkey and Syria are shocking. The scale of suffering and destruction is immense. Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives after severe earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, and the numbers are rising each day.
“We have to do something; we have to help,” thought Anja Tunjic, Learning Expert at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. That’s what inspired a local goods donation campaign at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. “I know that we have many dedicated employees working at Freudenberg. If one of them starts, the others will follow. That's how you really make a difference,” she explains.
We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. Within a few days, we had collected more than 33 pallets of boxes filled to the brim with valuable donations.
Anja Tunjic
No sooner said than done
The initial idea was to make a local appeal for in-kind donations — goods that are currently urgently needed in the earthquake zone. “We talked to Freudenberg employees in Turkey and quickly got an idea of the best way to help,” says Tunjic. The ball quickly got rolling, because after making a few calls within the Freudenberg organization, associates from other Business Groups joined the campaign and donated urgently needed goods. Colleagues at other sites also got on board, driving pallets of donated goods from Kaiserslautern to Weinheim on their own initiative. From there, the convoy will travel to Turkey to hand over the donated goods. “We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. Within a few days, we had collected more than 33 pallets of boxes filled to the brim with valuable donations for the earthquake victims. We had everything from food and clothing, medicine and toys, to baby cribs and strollers”, Tunjic says, summarizing the success of the campaign. A fully loaded truck will be heading out later this week to transport the goods to the earthquake zone.
Shortly after calling for donations in kind, more than 30 pallets of donated goods had already been collected for those affected in the earthquake region. These pictures were taken within the first few days of the donation campaign.
Shortly after calling for donations in kind, more than 30 pallets of donated goods had already been collected for those affected in the earthquake region. These pictures were taken within the first few days of the donation campaign.
Shortly after calling for donations in kind, more than 30 pallets of donated goods had already been collected for those affected in the earthquake region. These pictures were taken within the first few days of the donation campaign.
Shortly after calling for donations in kind, more than 30 pallets of donated goods had already been collected for those affected in the earthquake region. These pictures were taken within the first few days of the donation campaign.
In addition to this, there were also other independently organized campaigns by various Business Groups and Freudenberg sites. For example, Vibracoustic organized fundraisings in Bursa, Cerkezköy and Gemlik to collect relief supplies and donated an additional 75,000 euros to the Turkish Red Crescent.
Contributions from all over the Group
In addition to this, there were also other independently organized campaigns by various Business Groups and Freudenberg sites. For example, Vibracoustic organized fundraising campaigns at the sites in Bursa, Cerkezköy and Gemlik to collect relief supplies for the affected regions and donated an additional 75,000 euros to the Turkish Red Crescent.
Shortly after the disaster, Freudenberg as a Group had made a concrete contribution to the relief effort, providing 250,000 euros in donations to Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V. and the Red Cross/Turkish Red Crescent.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected and their families, especially those who have suffered injuries or the loss of loved ones. We hope that rescue operations will be carried out quickly and effectively and that everything possible will be done to help the victims at this difficult time,” Freudenberg CEO Dr. Mohsen Sohi said about the situation.
Freudenberg has maintained business relations with Turkey since the company was founded in 1849. In total, we employ almost 2,000 people at 14 locations and are represented by six Business Groups in Turkey.