60.000 euros was collected by REWE Group's Event and Travel Management division for a good cause: the money went to Kindernothilfe Haiti and to sniffer dogs in South Africa, both donation projects that have been supported by REWE Group and its employees with great compassion for years.

The large donation was the result of many smaller individual sums from train and flight compensation for cancelled or delayed business trips, which the start-ups Flightright and Refundrebel had collected for REWE Group. Frank Bartels, Head of Event and Travel Management at REWE Group, thanked all employees "who waived their compensation, precisely because we know how nerve-wracking delays or cancellations on business trips can be" According to Bartels, this once again demonstrates the "great willingness within REWE Group to provide uncomplicated help".

Daniela Büchel, the REWE Group Management Board member responsible for Sustainability and People, was also very pleased "that we are able to support two such important projects thanks to the high level of donations. Above all, because these small donations from so many individual colleagues show how solidary and connected we are with each other at REWE Group."

Laura Steden, Director Corporate Responsibility DERTOUR Group, accepted a donation of 20,000 euros: "The cheque from Travel Management will benefit the DERTOUR Foundation's employee donation project. We are supporting sniffer dogs that are being trained in South Africa to fight poaching. It is something like a project close to the hearts of DERTOUR employees."

On behalf of Kindernothilfe Haiti, Susanne Kehr was delighted to receive a donation of 40,000 euros: "It will benefit our scholarship programme in Haiti, which we launched in 2016 together with the REWE Group. This programme is more important than ever, also in view of the dire situation in Haiti: we can use it to help young people who would otherwise have no career prospects. So far, we have awarded a total of 243 scholarships, firstly to graduates of Collège Verena for university studies and secondly to children from the poorest families for vocational training."

Christian Dörr, Lead Corporate Travel Management, explains how the Travel Management division came up with the idea, how the donation was raised and how each individual employee can help:

one: Christian, the Travel and Event Management division has donated 60,000 euros, a large sum. How did it come about?
Christian Dörr: This sum is basically made up of many small individual donations from REWE Group employees who have waived compensation to which they would have been entitled due to delays or cancellations on business trips by train or plane. We would therefore like to thank a great many colleagues for their donations.

one: How did the idea of bundling these smaller compensations into one large donation come about?
Christian Dörr: In the past, we could only recommend to colleagues affected by train delays or flight cancellations: "Contact Deutsche Bahn or the airline directly to claim compensation". Because even if the company pays the travel costs, the compensation is due to the travellers who had the trouble. Unfortunately, this process involves filling out a number of forms and - especially in the case of air travel - sometimes involves a legal dispute. In our attempt to make the process more user-friendly and as automated as possible, we have come across two companies that provide us with excellent support: Refundrebel in the rail sector and Flightright in the air sector. We have been working with them since 2022 and 2023 respectively. They track down delays and cancellations and claim the compensation for us without any red tape so that we can donate it to social projects.

one: The 40,000 euros for Kindernothilfe Haiti and the 20,000 euros for sniffer dogs in South Africa are the only donations so far?
Christian Dörr: No, we have actually collected a total of around 80,000 euros since the start of the cooperation. We are delighted to be able to support a number of donation partners in this way. In addition to the current donations for Haiti and the sniffer dogs, previous partners have included the food banks.

one: How many individual donations are we talking about?
Christian Dörr : It's split between a lot of people, because there's quite a lot of interest among the workforce and the compensation is almost never huge amounts. In total, Flightright and Refundrebel have analysed almost 100,000 REWE Group business trips since the start of the cooperation and compared them with flight and train schedules. If they come to the conclusion that there is a claim for compensation in an individual case, the employee is informed by email.

one: And how can the delayed colleague with the cancelled flight then make a donation?
Christian Dörr: All they need to do is instruct our service providers to enforce their claims via the email mentioned above and give their consent for the compensation amount to be donated to one of our employee donation projects. Both can be done online with just a few clicks.

one: Can I keep the compensation?
Christian Dörr: Of course. And even in this case, we will inform you by e-mail about the possible compensation claim. Those affected would then only have to take action against the railway and airline themselves. This is simply legally justified. After all, it is not the company that is entitled to compensation, but the employees affected. If they donate, they assign their claims to us.

one: That sounds simple...
Christian Dörr:... and convenient: I'm doing good and the effort involved is very manageable.

one: In one sentence: What do I have to do to donate my compensation?
Christian Dörr: After the delayed or cancelled business trip, simply wait for the e-mail from REWE Group Travel Management and agree to the donation with a click of the mouse.