Commitment to social causes

Our civic engagement is extremely multifaceted and ranges from involvement in professional and industry associations to career guidance projects and support for sports clubs as well as charitable organizations and cultural institutions.

Supporting children and young people is a particular focus of ours, because after all, they are our future. For example, we work closely with schools at the local level to help students find the right career path for them. We also participate in the career exploration days that have become well established in Germany, such as TecDay, Girls’ Day, and Boys’ Day.

But supporting children begins long before they think about their future careers. That is why we sponsor numerous local sports clubs and community projects. For example, in Hagen we’ve supported the Rotary project “Sprache verbindet” (“Language Connects”) for many years, which helps children from immigrant families learn German. In Brazil, we support the initiative “Lutar pelo Futuro” (“Fighting for the Future”). In this project, children from socially disadvantaged neighborhoods in São Paulo are taught discipline, honesty, and respect through jujitsu training.

Another matter close to our hearts is the “Pro Integration Ausbildungsstätten gGmbH”: the renowned inclusive company was founded in 1982 by Inge Wälzholz-Junius to provide young people with intellectual and learning disabilities assistance with vocational training and access to the primary labor market. We continue to work very closely with the vocational and advanced training facility that was transferred to the Diakonie Mark-Ruhr charitable organization in 2019.