Staff at the STIHL founding company, ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, have donated €30,381 to the SOS Children's Villages in the Philippines. The money is to go to the kindergarten at the SOS Children's Village Iloilo to help finance the children's lunches, toys, school material and qualified staff. When presenting the cheque on 28 January in Waiblingen, the chairman of STIHL's general works council, Luigi Colosi, explained to Dr. Kay Vorwerk, Deputy Chairman of SOS-Kinderdorf e.V.: "We want to play our part in alleviating the great distress suffered by the children." A typhoon swept across the Philippines last November and completely destroyed the SOS Children's Village Tacloban. The children from that village were given shelter by neighbouring SOS Children's Village families.
Impressed by the generosity of the STIHL workforce, the STIHL founding company and the EVA MAYR-STIHL FOUNDATION decided to contribute a further €15,000 each and thus double the donation to SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. This money will also go to the SOS Children's Village Iloilo, and specifically the youth organization there, and be used to provide basic supplies of groceries, toiletries, clothing as well as sports and music facilities in the regions affected. STIHL executive board chairman Dr. Bertram Kandziora presented the cheque and said: "We are pleased that we are able to give our support and we attach great importance to ensuring our help goes directly to those in need."
The local STIHL importer, DMI (Deutsche Motorgeräte Inc.), has supported a number of charities in the Philippines and donated STIHL chainsaws and other power tools for cleaning-up operations in the disaster area. The STIHL founding company footed the bill for a large part of the airfreight for the urgent relief supplies.
Dr. Kay Vorwerk from SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. expressed his gratitude for the extensive support: "Without the help of companies like ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG and their staff, and also the EVA MAYR-STIHL FOUNDATION, we would not be able to keep up our work to the same extent. We are grateful and happy that STIHL is supporting our important SOS Children's Villages projects in the Philippines."
Caption:
STIHL helps SOS Children's Villages in the Philippines - from left to right: STIHL's general works council, Luigi Colosi, Dr. Kay Vorwerk, Deputy Chairman of SOS-Kinderdorf e.V., Dr. Bertram Kandziora, STIHL Executive Board Chairman and Dr. Michael Prochaska, Member of the Executive Board Human Resources and Legal Affairs.