Benefits of volunteering at work: Munich Re’s HR department teamed up with Pfennigparade for a day

There are many different motives for a commercial enterprise to partner with a social enterprise for a day: team building, knowledge transfer and the development of relationships with partner organisations, to name but a few. All good reasons. But they first begin to really take on meaning when you have personally experienced just how much you can gain from an exchange of perspectives.

Munich Re’s HR employees took the opportunity for a very special "work day" in the Barlachstraße, the headquarters of the Pfennigparade Foundation in Munich. I was delighted for the opportunity to share in this experience. It was a great chance to volunteer and grow together as a team. I’m grateful to all supporters.

The day was as such: Following a keynote speech on the subject of "Disability as a characteristic", we split up to participate in training sessions or open discussions, cooked, painted or went on an excursion in seven different activity teams with Pfennigparade employees and disabled groups.

When we came back to the Barlachstraße in the afternoon to meet and talk about our impressions over a snack and drinks, we all agreed it was a valuable and informative day with mutual learning and fun, laying the foundation of a long term relationship.

Pfennigparade – From a voluntary association to a successful social enterprise

At the beginning of the 50s, the Pfennigparade Foundation was established as a voluntary association to help the victims of the polio epidemic that was raging at that time in Munich. Originally set up to call for donations, the association has now developed into one of the largest German rehabilitation centres for people with disabilities. Today, Pfennigparade and its 16 subsidiaries operate childcare centres, schools, daycare and stationary residential facilities, a multi-generation house, nursing services with special support programmes as well as workshops and an integration company. Pfennigparade employs more than 1,500 physically disabled and 1,500 non-disabled persons, and is known far beyond Munich for its success in inclusive work and living forms and its wide range of services. Cooperation with Pfennigparade: http://bit.ly/2rbs756.

Munich Re has been working intensively with the Pfennigparade Foundation for over ten years now. Colleagues from the Pfennigparade Foundation are delegated to a wide range of assignments, from major projects in the IT sector to diverse activities in selected departments. In 2014, Munich Re and Pfennigparade also concluded a "Social Partnership Agreement" to underpin their relationship: http://bit.ly/2pQEkrZ.

Munich Re supports Corporate Social Responsibility

I’m happy to work for a company that supports the volunteering activities of its employees and funds them via the Schinzler Foundation: http://bit.ly/2qnQL1z.