The fans, club and foundation of Borussia Dortmund provided extensive support to those affected by the flood disaster last summer…
The fans, club and foundation of Borussia Dortmund provided extensive support to those affected by the flood disaster last summer. At the end of the fundraising campaign, the BVB Foundation “leuchte auf” visited the affected areas.
In July 2021, severe flooding in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate caused chaos and destruction. It was a matter of course for Borussia Dortmund and the BVB Foundation “leuchte auf”, among others, to provide assistance to as many victims as possible of this natural disaster, both in the Ruhr region and beyond.
Just a few days after the severe weather events, the BVB fan council, together with the “Südtribüne Dortmund” alliance, responded with a fundraising campaign organised at short notice for the Black & Yellow fan community. For two days, all residents of Dortmund were able to drop off donations and clothing at a collection and drop-off point at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. A total of more than 50 helpers were on duty at the Luftbad car park on both days. Once again, the solidarity of BVB fans in difficult times ensured a successful campaign: 27 boxes and 90 bags of donations were counted on the very first day – in the end, 62 boxes and 150 bags were collected, including sanitary products, baby food, water bottles, biscuits, clothing, chocolate, pet food and much more.
Financial donations could also be made via ”leuchte auf”, which were then forwarded to clubs, organisations and institutions affected by the floods.
The BVB pros and the club’s management also sent a sign of solidarity by stepping up to provide rapid assistance. The city of Hagen, only a few kilometres from Dortmund, was hit particularly hard by the flood disaster in mid-July. On 1 September, BVB played a benefit match in Hagen’s Ischeland Stadium and raised 295,000 euros for the flood victims. Before the match, BVB management staff Hans-Joachim Watzke, Carsten Cramer and Dr. Reinhard Rauball presented a cheque to Hagen’s mayor Erik O. Schulz.
However, it was not just towns and communities near Dortmund that were affected by the floods last summer; settlements and villages in the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate were particularly hard hit. Here the floods left a trail of destruction, tearing houses to the ground and ransacking river banks. As part of the flood fundraising campaign, “leuchte auf” not only supported 19 institutions with emergency financial aid amounting to more than 100,000 euros, but in spring 2022, the foundation also visited eight of the affected institutions, schools and organisations in the Ahr valley and surrounding area to get a personal impression of the severe damage. Each of the facilities visited received a donation amounting to 5,000 euros.
“We were very impressed by the huge readiness to donate and the engagement shown by people. The reactions of those affected on the ground once again made it clear how important it was to carry out this fundraising campaign,” said fan council representative Andreas Aßmann.
”It was very important for us to support different institutions and organisations, not just financially, materially and in a way that made the most sense – we also wanted to get a personal impression of the situation on the ground and take time to speak with those who have been affected,” said Marieke Köhler, head of the BVB Foundation, going on to add: ”We were really moved by the stories we’ve heard. The people affected were also touched by the huge solidarity and support they received through the fundraising campaign. Once again, a big thank you to all those who actively supported this!”
