Malteser Social Day: Putting manual skills to good use
A big effort is no longer required to find volunteers for the Malteser Social Day. For the eighth consecutive year, many KEG staff were willing to roll up their sleeves and demonstrate the importance of community work for people in the Kuraray Group. This year, staff from Hattersheim took on a project to facilitate outdoor lessons at the Hostato school.In Troisdorf, the “Heidepänz” and “Burgpänz” childcare facilities benefited from the hard work of Trosifol staff.
Putting manual skills to good use
In the past, employees in Frankfurt and Hattersheim had mainly helped childcare facilities. This year they looked forward to taking part in the school project “Learning outdoors”. Naturally, they weren’t expected to do any teaching: their task was to provide practical support to pave the way for outdoor lessons. The 28 volunteers thought it was a great idea.
However, some hard work was needed to prepare an outdoor classroom. For example, loose paint and plaster had to be removed from a wall in the school playground, so it could be replastered and painted. Other colleagues spent a busy day in the workshop screwing together 25 folding chairs based on a template.
Another group set to work diagonally opposite them in the gymnasium: their task was to empty a metal container and – after some gardening – move it to a new location to serve a new outdoor classroom – with the chairs assembled by their colleagues. Thanks to the excellent teamwork by all the volunteers, everything is now ready for outdoor lessons at the school.
Volunteers in Troisdorf went beyond the MSD
Volunteers in Troisdorf know there is always plenty to be done on the Malteser Social Day, but this year they outdid themselves. The “Heidepänz” childcare facility which the volunteers support every year had just taken over the “Burgpänz” childcare centre. That meant the 14 Trosifol staff had a double to-do list covering both locations. At the “Heidepänz” centre their tasks included clearing equipment out of a shed and sorting and rearranging it. Alongside a range of jobs inside the building, the agenda included dismantling a pool in the garden and refreshing the outdoor furniture ready for next summer. Some planting was also required.
That was enough to keep them busy for a whole day. However, the volunteers took on the “Burgpänz” childcare facility. Major planning was required to construct a roof over the new refuse area and a completely new fence had to be built. The work required went well beyond what the caretaker had planned. Heavy equipment was needed to set up the posts and far too little concrete had been procured so the colleagues had to make several trips to the DIY store. At the end of the day, some of the volunteers decided to come back in their spare time later in the week to update the shabby facility. KEG’s site management donated EUR 500 for the additional materials required (battens, boards and screws). Despite the enormous effort required, the volunteers from KEG’s offices, production facilities and other departments, the feedback from the volunteers was positive:
The Malteser Social Day strengthens our solidarity and sense of community.
