STIHL is supporting the charity SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. (SOS Children's Village) in Nepal after the earthquake disaster in April with a donation of 50,606 euros. On July 30, 2015, STIHL's Executive Board Chairman Dr. Bertram Kandziora and Employee Council Chairman Marcus Retter handed over a check to Holger Wölfle, head of the department at SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. The presentation of the check took place at SOS-Kinderdorf Württemberg in the town of Schorndorf. The employees of the STIHL founding company, ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, donated 25,303 euros and the company gave the same amount to double the donation. The earthquake in Nepal caused 8,000 mortalities and made 2.8 million people homeless, according to estimates by the UNO. SOS-Kinderdorf is providing support with reconstruction in Nepal and is helping people on the spot. For example, it is looking after children whose parents have been missing since the earthquake and is providing them with a home.
STIHL's Executive Board Chairman Dr. Bertram Kandziora is delighted with the high amount of the donation "We are connected with SOS-Kinderdorf through a longstanding partnership. With this donation, we would like to continue supporting SOS-Kinderdorf's work for society and to make a contribution to the reconstruction in Nepal." Marcus Retter, Chairman of STIHL's Employee Council, praised the generosity of the workforce: "A big thank-you to everyone who donated. It's great to see what can happen when everyone joins together to help and get involved." Holger Wölfle, head of the department for private sponsors, foundations and companies at SOS-Kinderdorf, thanked STIHL for the donation: "With this money, we will be able to help a lot of children and families in Nepal, and offer them a home and a perspective. We are delighted with the generosity of the company and its employees." The aid organization has already provided a home to many children in Nepal. Another 1,000 children are being looked after at fourteen emergency childcare centers operated by SOS-Kinderdorf.
Already last year, the family company based in the town of Waiblingen had donated to SOS-Kinderdorf in the Balkans and the Philippines. STIHL also supports the aid organization with voluntary work: Twice a year, STIHL employees help with the maintenance of the SOS-Kinderdorf centers in the Black Forest and Württemberg regions, using STIHL products to care for the meadows, bushes, hedges and trees. At a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. on July 4, 2015, the aid organization thanked STIHL for its solidarity and honored the family-owned company for its social engagement.