Siemens Caring HandsThe following are some examples of our social welfare activities.
Volunteering: employee commitment
Thousands of our employees around the world regularly volunteer their time to work on social welfare projects.
- Auctions, marathons and bicycle races for a good cause: The funds raised by our employees in the course of such activities are donated largely to people who are seriously ill or otherwise needy.
- Whether renovating child care centers, performing yard work in hospices or erecting shelters for homeless people, the employees of Siemens Power Generation provide hands-on assistance to needy causes. At the company’s location in Orlando, Florida, for example, more than 200 employees assist the worldwide organization Habitat for Humanity by building decent housing for needy persons.
Social giving
We provide financial and in-kind donations to various social welfare institutions. Above all, we seek to assist those who live in poverty and despair, who would otherwise receive little or no assistance.
- In the United States, Siemens Power Generation has donated more than US$2.5 million to the nationwide United Way organization in recent years, to fund specific aid projects in the local area.
- In conjunction with an aid campaign conducted by the organization Harbor House, our employees donated more than 130 mobile phones to victims of domestic abuse, who can use them to make emergency calls if necessary.
- In the spirit of the motto “a hand up instead of hand-outs,” Siemens Power Generation donated EUR20,000 last year to selected charitable institutions. The following organizations received EUR4,000 each:
Tadra Project
New desks for the roof of the world
| Ten years after starting a school in the Children’s Village its desks are worn. PG’s donation of €4,000 was invested in new furnishings. “Dr. Palden Tawo and his wife, Chöni, both born in Tibet and orphans themselves, were fortunate enough to grow up in a Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Germany. Out of gratitude they founded the Tadra Children’s Village for orphans in 1997 in Eastern Tibet approximately 3,000 meters above sea level,” recounts Michaela Schnippe.
The couple offers home for 135 children between the age of five and 19 on theroof of the world. Many of them were street urchins and survived through pettythievery. Today they receive an extensive education at the Children’s Village. Each child attends school from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. They learn Tibetan, Chinese, Math as well as English. Guest lecturers, mostly students, from Germany and Switzerland come to the Children’s Village to teach them. “It is an experience for the children to get to know European culture. And for the European guests, it is a once in a lifetime experience they will never forget,” said Michaela Schnippe.
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- As one of the largest industrial sites in the German capital city, the renowned gas turbine manufacturing plant in Berlin has an important social role to play. In this regard, Siemens Power Generation supported a project sponsored by the charitable organization Bethania Diakoniegemeinschaft, to build a playground christened HuttenKids & Co. in Huttenkiez, the poorest inner city district of Berlin.
Disaster relief
Natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and floods often strike regions in which Siemens Power Generation is at home. Therefore, we consider it an obligation to provide quick, unbureaucratic assistance to the victims of such disasters.
- In 2005, hurricane Katrina claimed hundreds of lives, caused billions of dollars in damage and left many people without possessions. The employees of the U.S. locations of Siemens Power Generation donated clothing and money to the victims of this disaster.
- At the company’s location in Gurgaon, India, Siemens Power Generation donated funds to the Tsunami Relief Fund. The funds were used to rebuild five villages in southern India after the tsunami disaster.
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