Our Social Days: you make a difference!

Volunteering is an important instrument of our corporate engagement. Many colleagues at our locations around the globe took part in numerous charitable projects over the course of the year: they swapped their laptops for shovels and paintbrushes and put in the hard work for a good cause at our Social Days.

Thank you to everyone who made an impact!

Our Social Days worldwide

Chicago 

Colleagues from our Chicago office spent a day volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Together with other volunteers, they repackaged food donations into smaller packages for distribution to food pantries, soup kitchens and needy families in the Chicago area. By the end of the day, for example, all volunteers had packed more than 10,000 pounds of onions. 

Barbara Kosiek, Deutsche Boerse Systems Inc., Chicago: “What I enjoyed most about Social Day was meeting colleagues I don’t normally talk to daily while doing something meaningful for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Who knew packing onions would be so much fun?”

Frankfurt/Eschborn

In Frankfurt/Eschborn, the Social Day included four projects: at the Karl-Krolopper-Schule (inclusive school for pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties from fifth to tenth grade), the colleagues helped to digitalise the teachers’ library; at the Sankt Markus day-care centre, they gave the group room and the garden house a fresh coat of paint, which made the children’s eyes light up. At the Monikahaus family centre, they repainted the corridors, and at the allotment garden of the Neebstraße day-care centre, they built a new sandpit, a toilet block, and renovated the fireplace. 

Aditi Alok, Trading & Clearing, Eschborn: “We had to use creativity, engineering, design, teamwork, and sometimes sheer perseverance to build a safe, environmentally friendly toilet in the middle of the forest so that children could play outside. It’s always a great team building exercise to work together on sometimes complicated and previously unknown things. And it’s very satisfying to have done something useful for others.”

London

Colleagues in London supported two projects to help the needy: the Whitechapel Mission sorted donations of clothing and toiletries for the homeless. At The Felix Project, they sorted surplus food from industry to donate to charities. 

Luke Attfield, Clearstream, London: “What struck me was the hard work and dedication of the permanent team at Whitechapel Mission. Their day starts at 5 a.m. to get the breakfasts ready for the guests. Then they are organised to ensure each guest can have a shower before picking up a fresh pair of clothes – all whilst offering advice and support to people in very challenging situations. It all ran like clockwork but only because of their unwavering commitment to helping those in need. A very moving experience!” 

Luxembourg

During the Social Day in Luxembourg, colleagues, including those from Kneip, got involved in two SOS Children’s Villages: at the SOS Kannerduerf Lëtzebuerg in Luxembourg (Mersch) they planted hedges, built a sandpit, and framed streetlamps with cobblestones, while at the SOS Children’s Village Merzig/Saar they planted flowers, weeded, and laid the foundations for a container. 

Aymard Niko, Clearstream, Luxembourg: “The children’s smiles during our work and the satisfaction of seeing completed tasks, such as building a hen shed, repainting slides, and rejuvenating furniture, give me the energy to keep going. These children, who already face difficult lives, teach us resilience and strength in overcoming challenges. This makes me even prouder of our work, knowing the lasting positive impact on their lives.” 

Prague

In Prague, many colleagues volunteer for charitable causes and various organisations throughout the year. At the St Claire’s winery in Troja, for example, they helped prune the vines. At the psychiatric hospital in Bohnice, they helped with gardening in the hospital garden, where the vegetables produced are served to the patients in the hospital canteen. At the retirement home in Chodov/Domov, they helped to beautify the garden.

Jana Kutilova, Deutsche Börse, Prague: “This was the second time that we decided to spend our volunteering day at the Chodov/Domov pro seniory Chodov, p.o. home for the elderly. This year we cleaned the garden and prepared it for the family party in the afternoon. What we appreciated most was the smiles of the residents as they watched us working in the garden, the time we spent together as a team and the thanks from the management of the home for elderly.”

Singapore

Our colleagues in Singapore collected a total of 675 kg of beach litter during a beach clean-up at Tanah Merah Beach. The aim of this initiative, in partnership with Green Nudge, was to reduce marine pollution and promote environmental sustainability. In appreciation of our efforts, ten mangrove seedlings will be planted to absorb around 200 kg of carbon emissions. 

Peter Ho-Spoida, Deutsche Börse, Singapore: “The most important experience for me at Social Day was the profound sense of community and shared purpose. It was a powerful reminder that beyond our daily business objectives, we have the ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.”

Further Social Days are being planned at our locations worldwide.

About our corporate engagement

This is just one of our many corporate engagement projects and initiatives. More information is available on our website, for example. There you will also find our annual Corporate Engagement Report.