STOROPACK DONATES €12,500 TO ALTES SCHWEINHEIMER SCHULHAUS, A SUPPORT CENTER FOR CHILDREN WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES IN ASCHAFFENBURG, GERMANY
Altes Schweinheimer Schulhaus in Aschaffenburg describes itself as “a place where people can learn and live together.” The support center, which also includes a facility in Goldbach, is a state-approved private school for physically disabled children, and is linked to Storopack through one of the company’s employees: Torsten Küßner of Sales at the Dietzenbach location initiated contact. “One of my daughters attends the school at Altes Schweinheimer Schulhaus, so I experience on a daily basis everything teachers, therapists, and school management do to make education accessible to children with physical and mental disabilities,” he says.
Honoring Social Commitment
Donating to charitable causes is a tradition at Storopack: every year, the international company based in Metzingen supports four charitable organizations located near one of the more than 60 Storopack locations around the world. “Honoring and supporting social commitment have always been a matter of course at Storopack. This year, our Dietzenbach location was able to select a suitable recipient,” explains Location Manager Heinz-Olaf Lucht, who had the opportunity to see the facility for himself in advance: “I was very impressed by everything that’s done at Altes Schweinheimer Schulhaus to promote education and a successful life for children with physical and mental disabilities, some of which are severe,” he explains. “This not only requires committed staff, but also the corresponding equipment – and this is where we want to help with our donation.”
Torsten Küßner, Heinz-Olaf Lucht, and Head of Field Sales Christian Rehn presented the donation check during an Advent ceremony attended by the school management, the parents’ council, teachers, therapists, parents, schoolchildren, and members of Verein für Menschen mit Körper- und Mehrfachbehinderung e.V., which is responsible for the facility. “We couldn’t be happier about the generous donation,” says Mechthild Haart, the school director. “We’ll use the money to finance a mobile, electronic board with a touch display and iPads. Electronic devices, in particular, make it easier for children with physical disabilities to learn and communicate.”
Because the children have different learning needs and require special, tailored teaching methods, unique care, and therapeutic measures, the school receives support from a special-needs day-care center and benefits from therapy options. More than a hundred children with physical disabilities in greater Aschaffenburg and the lower Main region attend grades 1 to 9 at the special-education center and kindergarten, also referred to as a preschool. This year, Storopack also made donations to Diakonie-Sozialstation Metzingen e.V., Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Sheffield, England, and the ELA Foundation in Laxou which is near Nancy, France.