Project of the Year 2009
The RWE Companius Project of the Year 2009 was chosen in a ballot in which 1,356 RWE employees from all the companies in the Group took part.
A total of 2,289 employee volunteering projects and every one of them a success – that is what RWE Companius has to show for the year 2009. This year, we decided to give our employees a chance to show their appreciation of all the great work being done under the RWE Companius banner by nominating a Project of the Year. The point was not to find the “best” project, but rather to encourage others to be inspired by what their colleagues are up to.
Twelve of the many projects nominated made it onto the shortlist and it was on this shortlist that the 1,350 RWE employees who took part in the ballot finally cast their vote.
The “School Kitchen in Ghana” project came first with 201 votes, while “Friends for Children” came second with 156 votes, followed closely by “Fun Saturday Special” and “Job Mentor”, which with 145 votes each shared third place. All four of these projects involve long-term engagement.
The Shortlisted Projects
Birgit Cawni and Siegfried Kaufmann had long been doing voluntary work for the village of Ntotroso in Ghana. On hearing that the school was in urgent need of its own kitchen and well, Kaufmann organised an RWE Companius project and flew to Africa to oversee its implementation.
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Children need role models and it is because many families these days are unable to provide such role models that the “Friends for Children” project was initiated. The project pairs up RWE employees with girls and boys who are in need of an adult friend and mentor.
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The third place was shared by a recreational project for children with severe, multiple disabilities and a project to help young people get settled in working life.
moreFifth place: Church Repairs
Like many other parishes, those of Zilshausen and Lahr lacked the funds needed to look after the mortuary they both share – reason enough for Gereon Schwarzer of RWE RWN to initiate an RWE Companius project to take care of the most important repairs.
Sixth place: Child Poverty
Children from poorer families often lack access to educational opportunities. Being aware of this, Melanie Grußbach of Süwag teamed up with a private initiative to set up a lending library for primary schoolchildren in Hochheim.
Seventh place: Electricity Supply in India
Father Manna’s Children’s Home in Eluru, India, used to have electricity for only two days of every week. Thanks to Klaus Gödde of RWE Power, however, the home is now to be connected up to the local grid.
Eighth place: Chivalric Tournament for Children
How many little boys have dreams of taking part in a chivalric tournament! In the summer of 2009, Heinz Stich of Amprion GmbH helped make this dream come true by organising a holiday programme with a difference.
Ninth place: PCs at Primary School
Even Year 1 pupils at Hirschkamp primary school have basic computing skills on their curriculum. Realising that the school’s computers were hopelessly out of date, Christian Bludau of RWE IT saw to it that they were replaced by much newer models.
Tenth place: Facelift for the School Hall
When the Elisabeth primary school in Dortmund was rebuilt, it soon became clear that the school hall would need a facelift too. Brigitte Morawetz-Lang therefore took care of organising the work required.
Eleventh place: BÄHMBOREE Scout Camp
The motto of last year’s BÄHMBOREE Scout Camp was: “Discovering habitats. Improving habitats.” Johann Kraus helped make the event an exciting adventure for all 850 children who took part.
Twelfth place: A fresh coat of paint for the Domiziel Home for Girls
Girls who are unable to live with their families can find a new home at the Domiziel Home for Girls in Essen. And to make sure they feel at home there as well, the CCL unit of RWE AG decided to combine a team-building exercise with doing something useful and gave the home a fresh coat of paint.
