Living Responsibility Fund

Mesa Brasil program

Mesa Brasil is a pioneer program geared towards combating hunger and wasting of food. It was created by SESC (Social Service by the Commerce) in 1994 and for the past 10 years DHL EXPRESS has participated in this program collecting foods where there is extra and delivering it where it is lacking. On a daily basis, up to three employees help to collect unused foods from bakeries, restaurants and supermarkets and distribute it to needy institutions. Hereby they use their logistics expertise to benefit their local community. In 2012, 195 employees are involved in the project and invest 840 volunteer hours until the end of the year.

The "Centro de Acolhimento de Craincas" center in the African country of Angola provides assistance to 135 young people between 8 and 14 years old. As a result of the difficult economic situation in the country, financial support for the center had decreased and the building had become quite run down. Particular challenges were the lack of running water and erratic power supplies. DHL Express Angola, armed with countless liters of water, detergent, brushes, paint and other materials, joined forces to clean up the boys' dormitories. They also collected books for the center's new library.

Fishing nets and other fishing tackle are pelicans' worst enemy. The Pelican Harbor Seabird Station in Florida (US) takes in injured birds and cares for them until they are healthy enough to be released. 22 DHL employees from MAIL, EXPRESS, Finance/Global Business Services and Inhouse Consulting volunteered their time to whip the aviary into shape. They cleaned cages and the bird transportation vehicle, weeded and painted walls. "The goal of this project was to mitigate the impact that society has on seabird populations in the coastal habitats of South Florida," explains Marysol Ramirez from EXPRESS. "By supporting the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, we not only learned more about injured wildlife but interacted with colleagues from other Business Units." The volunteers were praised for their work. "I am impressed with the speed of DHL team in finishing all the tasks," said Brian Fox, Director of the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station.

The Arnkielstraße elementary school is located in a socially disadvantaged area of Hamburg, Germany. 95% of its children come from immigrant backgrounds and approximately 60% come from families on social welfare. The MAIL branch Hamburg-Zentrum helped renovate the school building so that it could better meet the children's special educational needs. A total of 26 employee volunteers helped build a "green" classroom for classes held outdoors. The outdoor learning area makes it easier to teach subjects such as biology, the environment and social studies. The employees also created a quiet zone where children can go to rest and renovated the play area. "The students will really enjoy spending time here and will feel comfortable," says Thorsten Bräuer, the school principal. Following this initial event, which took place as part of Global Volunteer Day, the branch is now planning a longer-term partnership with the school.