The third-generation family business KAPP NILES is continuing its social commitment in the Coburg and Berlin regions to support various charitable organizations. The company donation of €10,000 is made possible by foregoing gifts for business partners. This approach has been practiced since 2007.
Managing Director Matthias Kapp emphasized that the donation is made available exclusively for social purposes and is usually divided among several institutions. "We always try to reach a wide variety of organizations with our donations."
The company donation is joined by the management and the divisional managers, who as private individuals support a charitable organization with a total of €1,500. Another donation comes from the pension partnership, which has been foregoing Christmas presents in favour of charitable organizations since 2008.
This year, the donation from the KAPP NILES Group was split between three organizations:
- The youth bicycle workshop received €3,000 from the DRK-Kreisverband Berlin-Nordost e.V. Volunteer project manager Christopher Stark described the beginnings of the workshop during the Corona period: "Social contacts were very limited, young people couldn't meet up. So we came up with the idea of opening a kind of self-help workshop. This was to give young people and refugees the opportunity to meet and repair their bicycles. We provide tools and spare parts in three garden sheds. Those who are not yet fit enough to repair bicycles receive support from volunteers. Since the opening, well over 200 bicycles have been repaired," Christopher Stark reported on the project. "At the end of November, all three houses were broken into. The complete equipment was gone and there was rioting. Fortunately, we received support from the district mayor, who distributed flyers with appeals for donations in the area." The call for help also reached the KAPP NILES plant in Berlin, which is just around the corner.
- A further €3,000 of the company's donation went to the Stadtjugendring Coburg. Saskia Bayer, who has held the position of Managing Director since 2021, reported on the overall concept of the Stadtjugendring. It represents 24 youth associations and supports them in the planning and implementation of numerous projects and cross-association activities. 99% of the funding is covered by the city of Coburg, whereby the funding must be applied for individually for each project and is therefore very time-consuming. Saskia Bayer lamented the fact that there are almost no funding pots for the web sector: "Young people spend a lot of time on social media channels. Everything takes place online. So I was all the more pleased to hear about your donation. Our association committee will now be free to decide what to do with the money".
- KAPP NILES donated €4,000 to the Coburg branch of the non-profit organization Weißer Ring e. V., which has its headquarters in Mainz. Corina Trier, the local branch manager, quoted Eduard Zimmermann from the TV crime show "File Number XY....unsolved": "There is no voice for the victims". Thanks to the Weißer Ring e. V. association, there are over 400 contact points nationwide to which victims of crime can turn. Both women and men can get quick and unbureaucratic support from the trained staff. This includes, for example, an initial consultation cheque for a lawyer, a cheque for trauma therapy or help with relocation. "We believe the victims' accounts and don't need any details to provide support. However, our volunteers are not trained therapists," reported Corina Trier.
The donation of €1,500 from the management and the group of divisional managers went to the Mentor Lesespaß-Coburg e. V. (Mentor reading-fun) association. Dr. Helga Brachmann, Chairwoman of the association and herself a committed reading mentor, recalled the words of a primary school teacher: "I teach the children English, but they don't even speak German properly". This problem is discussed by the general public at elementary school and motivates many people to volunteer as reading mentors or language mentors. Today, there are around 300 reading mentors and language mentors in Coburg alone. The close cooperation with 33 schools in the city and district helps to make the existing offer available to parents. The reading mentors meet once a week in public institutions with the respective child, who then has one hour to read. Dr. Brachmann reported on how quickly the children's reading skills improved and even led to improved grades in other school subjects.
On behalf of the retirees, Bernd Pöthig presented a donation of €2,500 to Isabelle Haberberger from Frauenhaus Coburg e. V. (Women's refuge in Coburg). The organization Keine Gewalt gegen Frauen e. V. (No Violence Against Women) is divided into three facilities: The counseling center, which serves as the main point of contact, the intervention center, which is informed after a police intervention, for example, and actively approaches those affected, and the women's shelter with 2.5 full-time professionals and 15 students who provide support on a voluntary basis. The house, which offers space for five women with children, is already getting on in years and is in great need of renovation. Thanks to the support of a socially committed property developer and numerous donations, a new building is currently being constructed to replace the current building. The plan is to build a communal playroom for around 10 children next to the women's and family rooms.
In conclusion, the panel expressed concern about the constantly growing need for social support, despite the high level of prosperity in our country. They are grateful that the culture of volunteering is so firmly anchored and actively practiced in Germany.