17.01.2025

MAPAL donates 1,600 euros each to Hatay earthquake relief and Kocherladen Aalen

A total of 3200 euros for charitable purposes

The four-figure sums will be invested in the construction of a rehabilitation centre and the purchase of a new refrigerated vehicle.

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Donations from MAPAL go to the Hatay earthquake relief organization and the Kocherladen Aalen
  • Donations from MAPAL go to the Hatay earthquake relief organization and the Kocherladen Aalen
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    1,600 euros for the construction of a rehabilitation center: Aalen's Lord Mayor Frederick Brütting, MAPAL Managing Director Dr. Jochen Kress and DRK Managing Director Matthias Wagner handing over the donation cheque. ©Stadt Aalen 

  • Dr. Jochen Kress, Thomas Hiesinger and Gerhard Vietz hold the donation cheque for the Kocherladen in their hands
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    The Kocherladen receives 1,600 euros for the purchase of a new refrigerated vehicle: MAPAL Managing Director Dr. Jochen Kress hands over the cheque to Kocherladen Chairman Thomas Hiesinger and Project Manager Gerhard Vietz. ©MAPAL 
Help where it is still needed today. When the earth shook in the Hatay region around Aalen's twin town of Antakya on February 6, 2023, nothing was the same afterwards. Thousands of people lost their lives, and people in the region are still confronted with the destruction and suffering of this disaster on a daily basis. Many have lost their possessions, homes and relatives. 
Donations from MAPAL go to the Hatay earthquake relief organization and the Kocherladen Aalen
1,600 euros for the construction of a rehabilitation center: Aalen's Lord Mayor Frederick Brütting, MAPAL Managing Director Dr. Jochen Kress and DRK Managing Director Matthias Wagner handing over the donation cheque.  ©Stadt Aalen

Rapid aid is followed by targeted reconstruction aid

Immediately after the earthquake, the city of Aalen, the Ostalbkreis district, various Turkish associations and aid organizations such as the German Red Cross joined forces to provide emergency aid to the people on the ground in Turkey. Now, almost two years after the earthquake, the focus is less on immediate aid, for example in the form of food.

Instead, the focus is on long-term reconstruction projects, such as the construction of a rehabilitation center for people injured and traumatized by the earthquake. Planning for this is already underway and the twin cities of Antakya, Kiel and Aalen, have each collected around 500,000 euros in donations to invest in the project. The remaining amount is being financed by the Hatay region, with the city providing the land for the construction of the rehabilitation center.

MAPAL Dr. Kress KG's contribution of 1,600 euros will now be added to the total donation from Germany. MAPAL Managing Director Dr. Jochen Kress presented the donation cheque to Lord Mayor Frederik Brütting and DRK District Managing Director Matthias Wagner. “We hope that we can really help the people in Turkey with our contribution,” says Dr. Kress. According to Mayor Brütting, construction of the rehabilitation center is set to begin shortly. “And that's why every donation is valuable in the future.”
 

A new refrigerated vehicle for the “Kocherladen”

The Aalener Tafel has also always been in urgent need of donations. Every day, up to 300 people come to the “Kocherladen” to buy fresh and packaged food and other everyday necessities for little money.
Dr. Jochen Kress, Thomas Hiesinger and Gerhard Vietz hold the donation cheque for the Kocherladen in their hands
©MAPAL
However, before the goods can be sold there, they first have to be collected by employees of the “Kocherladen” from cooperation partners, including grocery stores. In future, this will be done using a modern refrigerated vehicle that has already been ordered from the manufacturer. The refrigerated van will cost a high five-figure sum, will be delivered in the coming months and will then be used immediately.

Up to 300 customers visit the “Kocherladen” every day

When handing over the cheque in the foyer of the MAPAL site in Aalen, Managing Director Dr. Jochen Kress emphasized the importance of the food banks in many places in Germany.  There are now more than 1,000 locations, the need is high everywhere - and has grown considerably in recent years with the influx of refugees from Ukraine.

In the “Kocherladen” alone, up to 300 customers are served in one day during busy periods. At the end of 2024, Tafel Managing Director Gerhard Vietz issued the thousandth eligibility card. “This has risen sharply in recent years,” he says. In addition to the high proportion of Ukrainian war refugees, refugees from Syria and Afghanistan in particular are also entitled to purchase basic foodstuffs and other products from the Aalen food bank at reduced prices.
 

Portrait Ostertag-Mathias

Contact

Mathias Ostertag Public Relations mathias.ostertag@mapal.com Phone: +49 7361 585 3566

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