With a fair market value estimated to be almost 250.000 Euro, the “Brooks” sports and running shoes will supply every Czech orphan – within an appropriate age bracket – with a pair of cutting-edge, high-tech shoes for their sports activities.
“If there is one request we keep getting from orphanages time and again, it‘s for good quality running and sports shoes“, says Vaclav Cermak, Chance 4 Children (C4C) project manager. These are comparatively costly items and when purchased, eat away big chunks of the institutions’ already stretched and Spartan budgets. Consequently, more often than not, children are lacking adequate shoes for their sports activities. That is about to change.
The procurement of the shoes turned out to be a good example of efficient international networking between several parties with a social conscience and a heart for children. As usual, it all started with a phone call. On the receiving end is Manfred Franke, C4C’s chairman and founder, the caller is former Rotary Club Prague Bohemia president Markus Roevekamp. The Rotary Club Prague Bohemia is one of currently three patrons of Chance 4 Children. Markus is now active in a senior management position with European energy giant RWE in Zagreb, Croatia. “Would you be interested in some nice tennis shoes for your children?” asks Markus, with a hint of “more to come” in his voice. After Manfred acknowledged that indeed, yes, sports shoes are a much needed item in orphanages, Markus lets the cat out of the bag: he was able to secure the incredible amount of 2600 pairs of high-tech running shoes for C4C’s ROBIN HOOD program, worth almost a quarter of a million Euros, fair market value, from Brooks Running Shoes in Germany. A relative, Raimund Möcklinghoff, working for Brooks as operations manager, had informed him of the large contingent set aside by Brooks for corporate social responsibility purposes. All that was left to be found was a worthy recipient and in Markus’ eyes there was just no better partner than C4C’s ROBIN HOOD program.
And this is how the shoes, donated by the German subsidy of an American firm, found their way to their Czech recipients through a German expat now living in Croatia. And while much can be said for or against globalization, this goes to prove that not all aspects of it are bad… 🙂 Enter international logistic giant EMO-Trans into the picture and you get the idea of how the shoes arrived, without additional costs attached, at the C4C warehouse today.
Altogether, all of us here at C4C believe this to be a great example of international, across-border cooperation of many individuals and companies for the benefit of needy children here in Central Europe. A big “Thank You” to everyone involved:
Participating sponsors and partners:
Principal donor:
Brooks Sports AG, Raimund Möcklinhoff, 48155 Münster, Germany
www.brooksrunning.com
Packaging and loading:
Loxxess Münster GmbH, Herr Michael Lorenz, Kesslerweg 10, 48155 Münster,www.loxxess.com
Transport:
EMO Trans GmbH, Frau Katja Springmeier, Weg beim Jäger 218-22, 22335 Hamburg, www.emo.de
Logistics and coordination:
Markus Roevekamp (former president Rotary Club Prague Bohemia), RWE AG, Croatia
www.rwe.com
