30.04.2020 / Press Release
The charitable Rauch Family Foundation of the Allgäu-based company MAHA presented three donations worth a total of EUR 35,000 in recent weeks. For many years, the private charitable foundation has been helping people who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own.
Haldenwang, 11 August 2021. The first donation of 20,000 euros went to an association of three aid organisations. These include the Förderverein Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) in Sonthofen, the Freiwillige Feuerwehr (volunteer fire brigade) Sonthofen and the Johanniter based in Altusried. They invested the money in three identical operational drones with thermal imaging cameras. The project is intended to strengthen the cooperation of the individual organisations in the future and aims to jointly cover the entire district. The acquisition of the drones is intended to make operations, as well as working with each other, easier and more flexible. For example, should it be necessary, the pilot of one unit can also fly the mission drone of the other units. With the help of thermal imaging cameras, the new drones can be used multifunctionally in the search for missing persons, roof truss fires, dike monitoring, hazardous material operations and much more.
Anton Klotz confirmed in his function as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit Rauch Family Foundation: "I am delighted that with the purchase of the operational drones, we will be able to provide aid agencies with a helpful piece of equipment for their rescue missions. In times of climate change, there are more and more forest fires, and regular dike monitoring is also necessary. I hope the drones are used as little as possible, but if they do have to be used, they will serve their purpose very effectively. Best thanks to all the volunteers and their efforts."
"We are grateful to have been able to use the donation to kick-start the project. This joint project is unique, promotes cooperation and strengthens the "WE" feeling beyond the organisations. This project is groundbreaking, and we are pleased that it will enable us to handle joint operations. Without the donation from the charitable Rauch family foundation, it would not have been possible to expand our aid portfolio," reports Robert Denz, local representative of the Sonthofen technical aid organisation.
Anton Klotz also presented a further donation from the charitable Rauch Family Foundation to the Allgäu ART Hotel. The sum of 6,000 euros was used in the hotel for the conversion of two apartments into barrier-free accommodation units. The new rooms are reserved for people with disabilities who are on holiday or planning a longer stay in the Allgäu. Ms. Geiger, manager of the hotel, showed one of the spacious rooms. They are wheelchair accessible with an integrated height-adjustable nursing bed. The room also offers a barrier-free, spacious bathroom and its own kitchen.
The ART Hotel has a total of 58 double rooms and six family rooms. Since mid-June, the manager is pleased about a very good occupancy rate of the hotel (approx. 70%). As former manager, Mr. Reinhold Scharpf is regularly available to assist the hotel with questions.
Anton Klotz emphasised once again that the foundation's idea always focuses on people and that it wants to support them first and foremost with its donations.
Because it is well known that all good things come in threes, the charitable Rauch family foundation donated an additional third sum of 9,000 euros to the Immenstadt water rescue team.
Since the old emergency vehicle of the water rescue had become obsolete, a Mercedes Sprinter was purchased as a replacement at the beginning of 2021. The Wasserwacht Immenstadt-Bühl, founded in 1952, is ready for action every day of the year. In order to be able to provide professional assistance, the new vehicle has now been furnished with additional equipment. The vehicle itself was largely financed by the Free State of Bavaria. The vehicle equipment was paid for from the Immenstadt water rescue service's own funds. Due to the increase in the load of the new vehicle, new helper driving licences for the approximately 30 active members were also necessary. The private charitable foundation of Winfried Rauch, the now deceased founder of MAHA, which has been supporting rescue organisations and people in need through no fault of their own for many years, is now contributing to these costs.
At the official presentation of the donation, Anton Klotz, Chairman of the Foundation Board, emphasised the importance of voluntary work and was pleased to be able to provide the helpers with the necessary budget of 9,000 euros and thus contribute to increasing safety in the region. "Especially in times like we are currently experiencing once again, when a flood disaster dominates all the media, we are glad to have the means and the opportunity to support rescue organisations," says Anton Klotz.