WACKER’s relief fund is dedicated to providing unbureaucratic, long-term aid in the wake of natural disasters, in particular. To date, WACKER has matched all employee contributions to the relief fund, whose board of directors and board of trustees work on an honorary basis.

In 2012, the company relief fund asked employees to donate the cent amounts on their monthly paychecks to the fund on a regular basis. About 4,300 people in Germany have responded to the call and are thus helping to sustain relief fund projects centered on the reconstruction and running of schools and training facilities. The WACKER Group is participating in the cent-donation program with a contribution that matches employee donations. The cent donations enable the foundation to finance the running of an entire school of about 200 students in Kosgoda (Sri Lanka) up to the tenth grade – from the teachers’ salaries to teaching material to school uniforms and subsidized lunches.

The other projects supported by WACKER’s relief fund likewise made progress in the period under review:

China

After the earthquake in 2008, WACKER’s relief fund financed the reconstruction of an elementary school in Fujia, a village in the Sichuan province of central China. The school reopened for over 300 students in late 2009, bearing the name WACKER Primary School. Since 2011, WACKER Greater China has been supporting the school with scholarships for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and with school catering. 

Haiti

When an earthquake devastated this Caribbean nation in January 2010, WACKER responded with an initial donation of €50,000, which grew to a total of €125,000 thanks to employees’ donations and the company matching them. WACKER’s relief fund gave the money to the Don Bosco Mondo relief organization, which used the funds to rebuild a devastated elementary/middle school in Gressier. With the works completed in 2012, the school now serves 350 children, from the first to the 13th grade. These students are from very economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and include many orphans and street children.

Pakistan

In July 2010, torrential monsoon rains caused large-scale flooding, mudslides and landslides in northwest Pakistan. Together with Malteser International, WACKER’s relief fund supported reconstruction of an elementary school for 250 girls in the Swat district. The WACKER Executive Board donated €50,000 for the project. Shortly after construction work had been completed in June 2012, classes resumed in the new building.