COVID-19: Together through the Pandemic
The current Covid-19 pandemic shows that people are willing to help each other. However, volunteers are often limited due their commitment at work. To ease volunteering for its employees, Boehringer Ingelheim enabled all 51,000 employees worldwide to take ten days off for voluntary work – with full payment.
Tobias Schmitt, a dual student at the Human Resources Department, is one of many employees in Germany who are using this opportunity. For him social engagement in times of Covid-19 is a must.
“It is simple: I am 21 years old and healthy. Boehringer Ingelheim gives me the opportunity to use my time for people in need. It seems wrong to me to do nothing. At the food bank in my hometown Alzey, many volunteers belong to a risk group and are therefore not able to help. I support the food bank by packing packages for people who depend on the donations of the food bank. So they still get the food even though the facilities are closed.”
Andrea Seebold, an assistant of the works council, was one of Boehringer Ingelheim’s first volunteers. Even before the pandemic, she was already involved in the “Citizen Bus” project in her hometown Wörrstadt for several years. There she mainly helps senior citizens to visit the doctor, hairdressers or different shops.
“Public life may stand still, but solidarity and unity remains. Since the closure of the food banks, the German Red Cross has taken over the delivery of food packages to the people in need and they asked our team for support. Acting like this gives me the confidence that I will get help too when I might get in need one day.”
Christian Maly, a laboratory assistant in pharmaceutical development, also wanted to volunteer. Since March, he supports the Bavarian Red Cross in Neu-Ulm as a head of operations in homes for the elderly. For him, direct contact with people in need of help is a good variety to his very objective work in the laboratory. Despite many challenges, he is happy about his decision.
"I make sure that Covid-19 infected people don’t infect other residents or caregivers. At the beginning of the pandemic, many people underestimated the extent of the disease. That is why I often met misunderstanding and reluctance. For example when I asked residents to wear a mask. On top of that, there are long shifts: This year I already spent over 100 hours volunteering. Nevertheless, it is not a burden to me, it feels more like my purpose.
Anne Renkes is an employee in the Human Resources Department and involved in the initiative “Mainz gebracht”. The organization supports retailers in delivering their goods. Her reason to join the organization was the love to her hometown Mainz.
“The cityscape of Mainz with its many individual shops is incredibly beautiful. For example, there is a toy store, where I already went shopping as a child. The thought that many traditional shops that have been around for generations might close due Covid-19 felt wrong to me. I am now very happy to support small businesses that are having trouble.”
Ulrich Sontheimer is also an employee in the Human Resources Department and volunteers in a blood donation center of the German Red Cross. There he uses his experience as process manager.
"Especially now it became necessary to rethink the organizational procedures for blood donation appointments to avoid obstacles. This has a lot in common with my work as process management. For example, the question how can we work just as efficient as before even with fewer volunteers, since many of them belong to the risk group. What I find quite positive is that people are more willing to donate despite longer waiting times. Before Covid-19, between 60 and 70 people came to donate blood. Now there are up to 100 – a lot donating for the first time.”