Engagement
Since the foundation of Werhahn, the family-run business and its shareholders concentrate not exclusively on success and the expansion of business activities. From the beginning, charitable engagement has been an important part of the Werhahn concept.
The Werhahn foundation takes up, continues, and complements this tradition. The Foundation is an initiative of the shareholders of the Werhahn KG, which functions as its founder.
Under the motto “Laying the foundations for life perspectives”, the focus lies on supporting disadvantaged children, teenagers and young adults. The Werhahn Foundation runs numerous projects and supports initiatives both at home and abroad.
SOCIAL DAY 2019
Social Day 2019
The number of participants was larger than ever, and so was the task: At the third Werhahn Social Day at Raphaelshaus, a special challenge awaited the colleagues in 2019. The center for child and youth welfare in Dormagen wanted a horseback riding and mountain bike course for sports and experiential education. “We’ll do it,” said Werhahn employees and the Board of Management, and grabbed a shovel, power wheelbarrow and vibratory plate. The office workers weren’t afraid of heavier construction equipment either, and real talent was revealed when it came to driving an excavator.
Around 250 girls and boys are cared for in various semi-inpatient and inpatient groups as well as in external residential units. They all urgently need help due to the circumstances in their families of origin. With a variety of pedagogical concepts and an integrated school, which also enables the completion of secondary school, the development of the children and adolescents is to be given a direction with perspective again.
INTEGRATION PROJECT
Kompass D
Young refugees are enabled to live autonomously, to earn their own money, and to be integrated into their new home town, Neuss. This was the objective of businesses from Neuss, including Werhahn KG as the main initiator, to launch the initative “Kompass D” in November 2015. The young immigrants receive language training and additional tuition, for example in mathematics, business administration and social education. The first courses have started in April in Neuss and Grevenbroich. The integration project is definitely a pilot scheme for the whole country, because its aim is not to make demands but to offer active support.
COMMUNITY PROJECT
Community Center “StartUp” in Cologne
The institution supports refugees – young people, women and families – and is the first cooperative project of the Werhahn Foundation and the business unit abcfinance. The community center is run by the registered association “Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen” (Social Services of Catholic Women). Apart from financial aid from both the foundation and the company, employees of abcfinance are directly involved in the project. Their employer supports them by granting two hours off work. With more than 400 employees at the abcfinance branch in Cologne, over 800 hours of social work can be achieved.
Additional selected projects
VOLUNTARY ACTIVITIES
The Werhahn Foundation rewards the voluntary activities of employees of the Werhahn Group with up to 1000 Euro of aid money for selected initiatives.
ZWILLING FOUNDATION
In India, the Werhahn Foundation supports the ZWILLING foundation, which runs a vocational training center for disabled young people in the production location in Pondicherry, smoothing their path towards an autonomous life.
READING MENTOR NEUSS
Yet another success story is the project Reading Mentor Neuss, which was initiated by the Werhahn Foundation at the end of 2012. By now, 150 trained voluntary mentors (as of March 2015) help children and young people to enhance their reading and writing skills.