Volkswagen Group donates €1M to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria

MANILA: Volkswagen AG will be donating €1 million in emergency assistance for the earthquake-hit areas in Turkey and Syria.

The German Red Cross and the UNO-Fluchtlingshilfe e.V. will receive €500,000 each.

“Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. With this donation, we are providing rapid, unbureaucratic humanitarian aid for the people in the regions affected by the earthquake. The German Red Cross and the UNO-Fluchtlingshilfe are trusted partners that intensively tend to human suffering on site,” Volkswagen Group Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume stated.

The Volkswagen Group and the Group Works Council are also encouraging employees to support the relief efforts for the earthquake victims.

“We are all deeply shocked by the pictures coming to us from Turkey and Syria. It is important to support the people who have lost everything, particularly in these difficult times. It therefore goes without saying that we as a company and a team will come together to offer targeted help,” Volkswagen Group Chief Human Resources Officer Gunnar Kilian said.

“There is great dismay at our sites, also because in many places, our workforces have personal connections or even kinship with the regions affected by the earthquake,” Volkswagen Group Works Council Chairperson Daniela Cavallo stated. “Many colleagues have asked us about the possibility of a joint donation. There is now.”

Volkswagen AG Employees can now donate to the people of Turkey and Syria via the intranet.

The resources provided by the Volkswagen Group will be utilized to provide people in need and to distribute relief goods and medical assistance. Temperatures in the affected areas currently fall below zero degrees Celsius at night time, worsening the situation there. Accommodations, food, and warm clothing are provided by the organizations' expert teams, who are also assisting in rescue and recovery operations.

Photo from Volkswagen Group

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