It was a great shock to Gütersloh’s Folding Canoe Guild when in February this year, someone set fire to their clubhouse in Rheda Forest. Besides the building itself, a lot of materials as well as more than 120 boats that were stored in the building were destroyed, causing material damage alone of over €150,000. Bertelsmann now supporting the rebuilding of the clubhouse and is donating €10,000 to the Gütersloh Folding Canoe Guild.
Christiane Sussieck, Chairman of the Works Council at the Corporate Center, and Karin Schlautmann, Director of Bertelsmann Corporate Communications, have now handed over a check to the two first chairmen of the club, Rolf Theiss and Dirk Langnau. "Bertelsmann and the Folding Canoe Guild have repeatedly worked together over the years, for example as part of our company sports program or for canoe tours for our trainees. Many of our employees are also active there, so we care about the club," said Sussieck.
Schlautmann added: "We were really impressed with everyone’s passion and commitment after the terrible fire in February, so we are happy to support the Folding Canoe Guild. Hopefully our donation will contribute to club life returning to normal as quickly as possible."
Rolf Theiss, first chairman of the Folding Canoe Guild, thanked Christiane Sussieck and Karin Schlautmann: "The fire at our clubhouse hit us hard, but we’re delighted with the great willingness to help and the solidarity we’ve seen from all sides. We would like to warmly thank Bertelsmann for this support. The money will be used for the reconstruction of our boathouse."
