DEPT® cares day 2020

Every year, we invite our Depsters to donate some of their time and give back to their communities. We pick a date and Depsters across the world (!) volunteer at various initiatives in their hometowns and home countries. We call it DEPT® Cares Day. On this day, we come together to make a difference. Last year we cleaned and spruced up some beautiful Irish coastline, played with some adorable unwanted pets in Croatia, and threw a holiday get-together for some lonely elderly folks in Amsterdam!

Now, obviously, this year things will be a bit different. For starters, group meet-ups must be done 1.5 meters apart in most countries. But don’t worry, we will make sure to meet the local health regulations during all our activities.

That said, this year dept cares day is more important than ever.

Many people are hurting or struggling to get by. So caring, whatever form that takes, is something universal that we could all use more of right now.

So, let’s work harder than ever to make a difference and inject some good into this crazy year! Let’s make this the best DEPT® Cares Day ever.

Take a peek below at what your home city is planning and don’t forget to sign up!

DEPT® Cares Day is an initiative started by a few Depsters who wanted to give back to the community and do something good with their time. DEPT® supports this day with resources so that it can be done on a bigger scale. Whether or not you participate is up to you. But in case you have a couple of hours to spare, we would love to see you at DEPT® Cares Day 2020!
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These cities are participating

Argentina – Mar del Plata – Contact person: Mariano Urbina
Croatia – Split – Contact person: Branka Loncaric
Croatia – Zagreb – Contact person: Branka Loncaric
Denmark – Copenhagen – Contact person: Line Grastveit Rosenkvist
Ireland – Dublin – Contact person: Rose Keane and Niamh McConville
Germany – Berlin – Contact person: Britta Clausen and Joanna Hengstebeck
Germany – Cologne – Contact person: Adina Deimel
Germany – Dresden – Contact person: Vanessa Raffe
Germany – Hamburg – Contact person: Tammy Sahlmann and Maike Thiessen
Germany – Jena – Vanessa Raffe
Germany – Leipzig – Contact person: Vanessa Raffe
Netherlands – Amsterdam – Contact person: Leanne Huiberts and Niomi Consten
Netherlands – Rotterdam – Contact person: Yara Schuitema
Republic of Macedonia – Skopje – Contact person: Jasna Tanevska
Spain – Zaragoza – Contact person: Mike Palmer & Jennifer Graham
Switzerland – Zürich – Contact person: Fabienne Schneuwly
United Kingdom – Leeds – Contact person: Valerie Lalonde and Jennifer Graham
United Kingdom – London – Contact person: Valerie Lalonde and Jennifer Graham
United Kingdom – Manchester– Contact person: Valerie Lalonde and Jennifer Graham
United States – Boston & Newburyport – Contact person: Ayla Rosen and Courtney Keating

Amsterdam

Looking for an old-school, fun activity to do from the comfort of your own home in the weekend? We have a simple but rewarding activity planned for DEPT® Cares Day in the Netherlands: writing letters and postcards to lonely elderly! Time to dust off your trusty pens and pencils and take 5 minutes of your day to say hello to the elderly people in nursing home “De Buitenhof”. We will even send the post stamps and postcards to your home. All you have to do is write the card (or letter) and post it. And if you’re not sure your copywriting skills are up to par: you can ask our trusty copywriter for help on the 7th of November.

Full: berlin

This year the Berlin office is going to pack bags with donations for homeless people. The bags will be distributed at donation fences (“Gabenzäune”) throughout the city. The Berlin Depsters buy and gather donations from people, such as blankets, clothes but also necessity products for hygiene and nutrition. The gift bags will be packed together in the Berlin office and get delivered to the gift fences for people in need.

Boston & newburyport

This year, the Rocket team in the US will be organizing a beach/neighborhood clean up. Rocketeers will go out and clean around their neighborhood or a nearby beach in order to create a cleaner environment. Individually, with a colleague or in a team, everything is possible. So let’s meet up, have fun and clean that neighborhood!

Cologne

This year, Cologne will help the organization Gain Germany with some of their great offers,packing gymbags for teenagers in need or sending diapers to the many children in Moria. Everyone who participates will be able to do this safely, from home or in small groups in the office. Folks can even donate money to support the organization if they’d prefer.

Copenhagen

As much as we would love to get together and do some volunteer work, Corona has given us a few limits….SO… This year we have decided to do it a bit differently and support by donating some of our old/unused stuff. Maybe you have an old well-functioning laptop that is just collecting dust in your storage room. Your kid got 5 monster trucks but the blue one is not the favorite because it doesn’t make the correct “vroom vroom” sound? Or do you also have that winter coat you just couldn’t live without and now it’s just hanging in the darkest end of your closet? Don’t worry we know the feeling and now our old/unused stuff can get a new life for people who really need it and where the stuff will have a great impact. We have chosen to focus on 4 different organisations who really need some support!

Dresden, jena & leipzig (november 6)

This year the Dresden, Leipzig and Jena office are going to gather donations for children in need. Depsters will donate money to the mother of one of our co-workers. She’ll use these donations to purchase playthings, cuddly toys and pencils & paper. In addition, you could also donate stuff, such as clothing form your children which don’t fit anymore or playthings . All of these goodies will be delivered to a Rumanian children’s home and help make the children’s day a whole lot brighter! The office will collect all the donations and pack the gift bags in Dresden on November 6.

Dublin

The Dublin office will spend a morning cleaning up the beautiful beach on Bull Island. We can cover a lot of the island as a group and may even see some seals! Last year it was a great success, collecting 15 bags of rubbish and leaving the beach sparkling! Besides the beach clean-up, we’re also going to organise a raffle for the young asylum seekers. The raffle will support these incredible young people make an easier transition into education. Be in to win some yummy and interesting prizes. We’ll be kicking off the raffle on the 7th of October and it will run right up to DEPT® Cares day on the 7th of November. Read more about Nasc’s Connect Migrant Youth Project here. To be postponed and further decided at the end of lockdown two.

Full: hamburg

This year the Hamburg office is going to pack bags with donations for homeless people. The bags will be distributed at donation fences (“Gabenzäune”) throughout the city. The Hamburg Depsters buy and gather donations from people, such as blankets, clothes but also necessity products for hygiene and nutrition. The gift bags will be packed together in the Hamburg office and get delivered to the gift fences for people in need.

Leeds

This year the Leeds office is asking you to consider donating blood, which is more essential than ever before. The NHS says around 135,000 new donors a year are needed to replace those who can no longer give because of illness or other circumstance. That said, donating is not only massively helpful, it something that can be done safely, on your own and distanced from others. The deadline for donations is November 7, so please sign up!

London

This year the London office is asking you to consider donating blood, which is more essential than ever before. The NHS says around 135,000 new donors a year are needed to replace those who can no longer give because of illness or other circumstance. That said, donating is not only massively helpful, it something that can be done safely, on your own and distanced from others. The deadline for donations is November 7, so please sign up!

Manchester

This year the Manchester office is asking you to consider donating blood, which is more essential than ever before. The NHS says around 135,000 new donors a year are needed to replace those who can no longer give because of illness or other circumstance. That said, donating is not only massively helpful, it something that can be done safely, on your own and distanced from others. The deadline for donations is November 7, so please sign up! For those that can’t donate blood or want to give something extra, we’ve partnered with homeless charity Coffee4Craig. Bring in your gently used winter jackets to help a rough sleeper keep warm over the cold months. We’re also collecting clothing essentials, such as boxers and socks.

Mar del plata

This year the Mar del Plata office will help an orphanage who works with a local children’s hospital, by donating necessities. Because of the strict corona rules, it is not possible for Depsters to get involved in an activity. However, you can help to donate necessities for the children. Contact Mariano to hear about this initiative!

ROTTERDAM

FULL: Besides that, you can join us to wrap birthday gift boxes for children who grow up in poverty. This activity will take place in Rotterdam at an external location, in collaboration with Stichting Jarige Job. Of course, we will make sure this activity is corona proof and follows the latest government regulations. Therefore, a maximum number of people is allowed.

Skopje

The Skopje office is donating to a local hospital on the DEPT® Cares Day. To comfort the people they’ll take care of the bed sheets and pajamas for the patients. Another company in the city organizes a Cycle4Charity event on 27 October and we’re excited to take part in that as well. We’ll join in in cycling around Skopje to raise as many funds as we can for people and families in need.

Split

The Split office will be providing small presents for children’s home Maestral. We will make the children happy by playing board games with them and bringing them some fun stuff (like candy and soda). It will definitely be a special day for the kids, and for the Depsters as well! Make sure to be there, to see those children smile ?

Zagreb

This year the Zagreb office is going to help children from one of the children’s homes in Zagreb. We will make a donation in the form of pajamas, underwear or other clothes for the youngest children from the orphanage. If the covid situation allows for it, we will spend some time with the children to play games and do other activities.

Zaragoza

This year the Zaragoza office is asking you to consider donating blood, which is more essential than ever before. The NHS says around 135,000 new donors a year are needed to replace those who can no longer give because of illness or other circumstance. That said, donating is not only massively helpful, it something that can be done safely, on your own and distanced from others. The deadline for donations is November 7, so please sign up!

Zürich

For the DEPT® Cares Day 2020, both teams in Zurich (DMCH and DTCH) are teaming up to offer presentations about Accesibility in Coding and Digital Marketing to the Powercoders, an NGO that organizes IT courses and internships for migrants and refugees in Switzerland. The goal is not only to provide them with additional insights and knowledge but also to listen to their experiences and stories about life in Switzerland. This is definitely going to be a special day that you don’t want to miss!