Voluntary help for the homeless in winter

Last winter, Ingrid Brandhorst provided a shining example of how voluntary work can look in practice. Walking through the snow-covered streets of Essen in January 2009, the RWE employee noticed a homeless man braving the cold and promptly resolved to seek the support of RWE Companius for a project of her own which would help him and others like him through the most difficult part of the year.

So what do homeless people need most in winter? To find that out, Ingrid Brandhorst contacted a social centre on Maxstrasse run by the Diakoniewerk Essen, Caritas and the German Red Cross. “I thought first of blankets and sleeping bags, but in the course of that first conversation is soon transpired that good winter shoes were the item most in demand,” explains Brandhorst.

She thereupon undertook to organise the whole project, which meant applying for funds from RWE Companius, obtaining quotes for good quality winter shoes and then organising their purchase and delivery.

Fortunately, the RWE employee was able to draw on the support of a colleague, Stefan Balázs, who volunteered to help her distribute the shoes and donated clothes on 12 February. By assisting the staff of the clothes depot and soup kitchen, Brandhorst and Balázs gained an insight into the work of the social centre. The shoes – about 60 pairs altogether – were distributed as needed so that they went only to those who were genuinely in need of them.

Of one thing at least the two RWE employees are in no doubt: this will not be the last voluntary project they do.