Bertelsmann companies help earthquake victims
As the death toll from the devastating earthquakes in the Turkish-Syrian border region continues to rise, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions has announced a donation of €200,000 to aid the victims. “On behalf of Arvato Supply Chain Solutions, I would like to express my deepest sympathy and sincere condolences for the terrible tragedy in Turkey,” said Frank Schirrmeister, CEO Arvato Supply Chain Solutions. He noted that the division wants to support the region and in particular its people with the donation. Arvato Supply Chain Solutions operates seven Turkish sites near Istanbul; according to the company, no employees were harmed.
Meanwhile, Majorel has been able to contact all employees previously listed as missing in the earthquake region – they are all safe and sound. As Bertelsmann and Saham Group’s customer experience company further reports, this means that there was only the one fatality among its employees. The employee died together with her family. Majorel operates sites in the affected regions in eastern Turkey in Diyarbarkır, Adana, Kayseri and Elazig with a total of around 1,500 employees. In Kayseri and Adana, Majorel has opened its undamaged company buildings to all affected employees and their families to provide temporary housing. There, they will be provided with food and other daily necessities. In addition, Majorel plans to make a major donation to the non-governmental organization Akut, on top of the direct and financial support the company will provide to its employees. Akut provides help in natural disasters and other emergency situations with voluntary, trained workers and qualified equipment and materials.
Joint special broadcast in the Netherlands
Various RTL Group companies have also launched initiatives to support organizations providing aid to victims in the affected areas. RTL Nederland, for example, is working with public and other private radio and TV stations to raise funds as part of a joint day of action tomorrow (Wednesday). Together with the aid organization Giro555, the media companies will replace their live programs with broadcasts from the Institute of Sound & Vision in Hilversum. RTL Nederland, NPO and Talpa Network will also broadcast a joint special program on the NPO1 television channel starting at 8:30 pm. A call center will be set up at the Institute of Sound & Vision for viewers and listeners to call in donations to Giro555. To maximize attention for the donations campaign, RTL Nederland will make Giro555’s emergency aid the focus of its programming. In the evening, the TV channels RTL, NPO and SBS6 will simultaneously switch to a live broadcast from the Institute of Sound & Vision, where the final result of the fundraising campaign will be announced.
The “Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” (“RTL – We Help Children” foundation) launched a fundraising campaign in Germany for the victims in Turkey and Syria immediately following the earthquake. The non-profit foundation, together with its partners, is using the donations to provide relief for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. This includes rescue and recovery of victims buried under the rubble, medical care for the injured, and vital emergency aid measures, such as provision and delivery of medicines, water, and food. The Bertelsmann Printing Group’s multi-partner rewards program “DeutschlandCard” has appealed to customers to donate their points to “Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern.” The points will be transferred directly to the foundation and will be used wherever help is most urgently needed.
The Fremantle production company has launched an in-house initiative to provide financial support for humanitarian efforts in the affected region. A website has been set up for employees wishing to make a donation to pledge their donation amount by February 27. The company will then in turn donate five times the total amount donated, up to a total of 500,000 euros. All donations will go directly to Oxfam, an international alliance of various aid and development organizations that is now active in the area affected by the earthquake.
Relief campaigns by employees
Teams from Save the Children, an aid organization Penguin Random House U.S. has worked with for a long time, are also active in the earthquake region. Save the Children has established the Middle East Humanitarian Fund, which enables the organization to initiate immediate relief efforts to help those most in need in the region, but also to work with communities to support long-term reconstruction efforts. When Penguin Random House U.S. employees donate money to this fund or to other qualified charitable organizations, the company matches their donation up to a maximum of $2,500 per employee per calendar year through its Matching Gifts Program.
Colleagues at many other Bertelsmann companies have also launched relief campaigns for the people affected in eastern Turkey. One example: the employees in the Real Estates & Services division at Bertelsmann’s Corporate Center, who collected in-kind donations for a relief transport to Antakya in the southern Turkish Mediterranean region. Among other things, power banks, tents, sleeping bags, blankets, hygiene articles, underwear for women and children, and winter shoes were trucked to the region.
