Meet Hanseatic Help
BY HOLLY T .
I am excited to tell you about
Hanseatic Help , the local charity AWCH members voted to support over the next two years at the AGM in January . Hanseatic Help collects and delivers basic necessities ( e . g ., clothes , shoes , hygiene articles , and school supplies ) free of charge to around 200 facilities and shelters in Hamburg and the environs , which then distribute the items to people in need ( the homeless , refugees , women and children in shelters , the unemployed , sick , elderly , etc .). Drawing on Hamburg ’ s terrific logistics as a major port city , the organization has also collected and delivered supplies to international refugee centers in Turkey , Greece , Iraq , and Syria , and to other crisis regions ( Kenya , Haiti , Lebanon ). Bringing this about depends on the hands-on support of volunteers who help sort and pack donations in a 2,300-squaremeter warehouse space in Altona . AWCH members Jennifer L ., Shelly S ., Emma B ., Stella K . -R., Marion L ., and Deborah O ., who all helped out before the COVID-19 restrictions , have described what a great way this is to get German language practice and meet Hamburg locals in a friendly , cooperative atmosphere . As soon as it is safe to do so again , we look forward to organizing a regular time slot for AWCH members to meet up there to help out .
Local companies donate large quantities of hygiene articles and other basic goods and , with everyone cleaning closets during the pandemic , there is currently a huge oversupply of donated women ’ s clothing . But
Photos by Shelly Schoeneshoefer
there are still needed goods . AWCH could contribute to Hanseatic Help by collecting sleeping bags and mats or men ’ s clothing or even raising money to purchase such unglamorous but badly needed items as men ’ s underwear .
Hanseatic Help began in 2015 as a way of organizing the many volunteers who wanted to help the huge numbers of refugees arriving in Germany that year . Though no longer its primary focus , Hanseatic Help still serves the
refugee community by helping them and long-term unemployed locals gain access to education and employment . AWCH just won a FAWCO development grant for “ Empowering Refugee Women ” by supplying and equipping a learning center for this purpose at Hanseatic Help . Many thanks to Jennifer L ., Carol H ., Carol S ., Susan S . -W., Shelly S ., and others for their work on the proposal . Going forward , we can continue to raise money to fund textbooks and supplies for refugee women and possibly offer English conversation or other lessons . We would like to participate in and help organize special evenings
Meet Hanseatic Help
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