Deutsche Post DHL Group today (Sept 17) presented a package of measures to help newly-arrived refugees in Germany, including with housing, work experience, volunteer activities and funding for corporate responsibility partner projects.
The postal and logistics group will work together with SOS Children's Villages Germany and Teach First Deutschland to prepare its employees to serve as "integration guides" for refugees, and is committing €1 million in financial support. In addition, the group will make facilities available for housing, offer internships, mobilise employees as volunteers and deploy dedicated coordinators to manage aid efforts locally.
"As a company with a strong presence both in Germany and throughout the world, we want to contribute to the integration of refugees jointly with our partners. In doing this, we also continue to support a long-established tradition of volunteering among our employees in cooperation with non-profit organizations," said CEO Frank Appel.
The company will allocate €1 million in funding in the first year for programmes designed to support the integration process. These will focus primarily on language acquisition and the provision of vocational support. Deutsche Post DHL Group will be collaborating with well-established partners such as Aktion Deutschland Hilft, an alliance of German relief organizations, SOS Children's Villages, Stiftung Lesen and Teach First Deutschland.
In addition, DP DHL plans to offer up to 1,000 internships, which could later lead to future traineeships and employment in Germany. Approximately 100 dedicated coordinators in Deutsche Post branch offices across Germany will work closely with partner organizations to manage the refugee aid efforts locally. The group will also be inviting some 10,000 employee volunteers to provide local-level support to these projects.
The company also plans to initiate negotiations with federal and state officials regarding the use of up to 100,000 sqm in real estate for refugee housing. In addition, it will offer manpower to support in administrative tasks related to the aid effort.
Each of the group's partner organisations will contribute to the initiative with its own individual area of expertise. Aktion Deutschland Hilft, an alliance of relief organizations, offers coordinated relief assistance. DP DHL will support the partners of Aktion Deutschland Hilft to be able to respond to the needs of the refugees, including organisational tasks. In addition, DP DHL will work together with SOS Children's Villages Germany and Teach First Deutschland to prepare employees to serve as "integration guides" for refugees.
The German reading foundation Stiftung Lesen, which promotes integration through education, reading and language acquisition, will train Deutsche Post employees as "reading buddies". "Refugees who come to Germany need our help," says Dr. Jörg F. Maas, managing director at Stiftung Lesen. "Stiftung Lesen does its part by helping these people – especially families and children – to learn German and feel at home in our culture as quickly as possible. And reading is how we do this – by reading to them and with them."
