Giving Christmas Joy, Parcel by Parcel

For the employees of Zott, as well as their relatives, it has been an honour, for many years, to participate in the Johanniter Weihnachtstrucker (Johanniter Christmas truck) campaign. During advent, in all the departments in Mertingen and Günzburg, and also in the employees’ homes, contributions are requested, bought and packed-up for the Christmas truckers. These parcels are for those families in need in Southeast Europe and contain basic foodstuffs, sweets, toiletries and small gifts for children, families, and the elderly living in poverty, as well as for people with disabilities.

As part of a Christmas event, which traditionally takes place on the car park in front of the Mertingen dairy area, the parcels are personally handed-over. The children from the nursery and kindergarten, as well as the pupils from Mertingen primary school, are also present at this event, and help with loading the Christmas truck. We have been supporting this campaign since 2010 with a truck, and we also cover the necessary costs, such as fuel and tolls.

Anton Hammer, Executive Director Finance & Service, hands over the 624 donated packages to Markus Kristen from the Johanniter.

In 2020, solidarity and helpfulness were more in demand than ever, so we were very happy to support the Johanniter Christmas trucker campaign. The traditional Christmas event did not take place, but that did not slow down our commitment. This year our employees in Mertingen and Günzburg packed 624 gift packages for the poorest in Southeast Europe for the campaign.

The pandemic caused the Johanniter not to send any convoys to the destination countries in order to protect the voluntary helpers. Instead, the collected parcels are delivered by forwarding agents to Albania, Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Ukraine and distributed by Johanniter's partners there.

You can find more information about the Johanniter-Weihnachtstrucker (Johanniter Christmas Truckers) here.

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