ABB Germany is a Premium Partner of Special Olympics Germany e.v. (SOD) for another three years. The corresponding contract was signed in June 2023 at the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin by SOD President Christiane Krajewski, Federal Managing Director Sven Albrecht, as well as Markus Ochsner, Chairman of the Board of Management and Alexander Zumkeller, Labor Director and Chief Human Resources Officer of ABB AG. Since 2000, ABB has supported the sports organization for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities in a variety of ways. During this time, more than 3,500 ABB employees have volunteered as corporate volunteers at SOD's National Games.
This win-win commitment has long since become an essential part of ABB's corporate culture: "A partnership over such a long period of time is something special. This is only possible because our employees carry a Special Olympics gene," explains Markus Ochsner. And Alexander Zumkeller adds: "Employees invest their vacation or time credits to attend Special Olympics Games, and that clearly shows how much they support Special Olympics."
More than just sponsorship
"ABB has been supporting the Special Olympics movement for 23 years and has contributed significantly to the achievement of our goals and the success of many National Games. Corporate volunteering is an important pillar of the partnership and many ABB employees have become familiar faces at SOD events through their long-standing support. We are pleased and proud to continue to have ABB at our side and to be able to work together for a more inclusive society in the years to come," said Christiane Krajewski, President of Special Olympics Germany.
As part of the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin, 150 ABB volunteers from all over Germany once again supported the more than 6,500 athletes as well as coaches and organizers from all over the world. Over the past 23 years, the employees have already taken part in local and national games and now also at the World Games. Many of the volunteers have already participated several times and apply again every year.
Special Olympics Germany in a nutshell
Special Olympics Germany (SOD) is the German organization of the world's largest sports movement for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, a sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Special Olympics is now represented by more than 5 million athletes in 174 countries. SOD is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) as an association with special tasks and today provides more than 40,000 people with intellectual disabilities with self-determined choices from disability-specific to inclusive offers. Beyond sports, SOD sees itself as an everyday exercise with a holistic offering: The Healthy Athletes® health program, the family program, the SOD Academy, unified sports® and volunteering create a sense of achievement and opportunities for participation for the individual and also push social processes.
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This article has been machine translated. The original article was published in German and is available here.
