Corporate press release
GEA and its employees donate EUR 250,000 in aid to Ukraine
11 Apr 2022
GEA and its employees have donated EUR 250,000 to the German Red Cross for the victims of the war in Ukraine. As part of a global fundraising campaign, GEA staff members from 42 countries collected EUR 125,000. The company then matched their contribution.
- GEA employees from 42 countries contribute to fundraising campaign
- The German Red Cross will use the donated funds specifically to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine
- The GEA country organizations and divisions support the Ukrainian cause with additional initiatives
“Until recently, it was impossible to imagine a war of this scale on European soil and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Every day, we are confronted with shocking images and news reports. Our thoughts go out to all those affected by this war,” said GEA CEO Stefan Klebert. “That is why we launched this fundraiser. My fellow Executive Board members and I are deeply moved to see how generously our employees around the world have given. With this donation, we are supporting the German Red Cross and its volunteers in providing urgently needed humanitarian aid to Ukraine.”
Country organizations on four continents contributed to the fundraising campaign. In addition to Germany, the U.S. and Canada, employees from smaller country organizations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Norway also made donations.
“We would like to express our deep gratitude to GEA and all its employees whose generosity supports the work of the German Red Cross in Ukraine. Your actions are a shining example of solidarity and human empathy,” added Hans Schwarz, President of the DRK Landesverband Nordrhein e.V. (German Red Cross North Rhine Association). “Both at home in Germany and abroad, the Red Cross is committed to helping people from Ukraine who are in need. With your charitable donation, you are underpinning this important humanitarian work. We sincerely thank GEA and all the employees who gave to this cause.”
The Red Cross provides extensive humanitarian aid to refugees. To that end, the organization is active throughout Germany receiving, feeding and housing refugees as well as offering counseling and orientation services. In the international arena, the Red Cross works closely with the Ukrainian Red Cross as well as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. GEA’s donation will be used to source urgently needed medications, food, hygiene products and donations in kind, such as blankets, as well as for their distribution locally to people in Ukraine.
In addition to this centrally coordinated fundraising campaign, the GEA country organizations and divisions contributed to additional relief efforts:
- GEA Farm Technologies is lending a hand to Ukrainian agricultural businesses with hygiene products needed to clean dairy farms on a daily basis.
- GEA Poland is supporting a local organization providing care for Ukrainian refugees.
- GEA Netherlands is working with a partner to donate canned food to Ukraine.
- GEA is sponsoring packaging materials and transportation so that donations in kind collected by employees at the Berlin site can be delivered to various aid organizations.
GEA CEO Stefan Klebert (right) hands the symbolic check to Hans Schwarz, President of the DRK Landesverband Nordrhein e.V. [Image: German Red Cross]
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