The BIWC’s charity history

The BIWC has been supporting people in times of crisis since its foundation. It will continue to support – local and international – programs especially for women and children in the future. A selection of these efforts follows:

In October of 2005, the BIWC held an International Charity Fest that raised approximately € 23,000 for the Björn Schulz Stiftung.

In 2010, the BIWC organized a fashion show for the Hestia Frauenhaus that made € 11,000 to help finance a small bus to assist in removals by the inhabitants, for shopping, excursions and financing events.

€ 3,500 were raised at the BIWC’s 20th anniversary party in October 2012 for buying an industrial washing machine for Hestia Frauenhaus. In addition, club members redecorated and refurbished the public areas of Hestia.

A Spring Bazaar, held in April 2019, was organized by club member Sarah Psalti-Helbig. Two guest speakers took part: Professor Barbara John, a well-known CDU politician, who was Berlin’s Minister for Migration und Integration from 1981 to 2003 and Eva Kultus, director of Papatya – Turkish for chamomile – that offers protection and counseling in cases of domestic violence, forced marriage and abduction. A donation of € 2,500 was made to Papatya in 2019.

In 2023 we received a generous donation of € 2,500 from BMW to support our next charity event for the benefit of Hestia Frauenhaus.

Hestia history with the BIWC

The BIWC support of Hestia-Frauenhaus goes back a long time. Funds, as well as needed items have been collected for Hestia on many occasions. Club donations to Hestia-Frauenhaus in recent times amounted to 2018 € 1,000, in 2019 to € 1,066, in 2020 to € 1,000, in 2021 to € 2,480 and in 2023 to € 5,500.

Some special efforts follow:

In September of 2019 the BIWC was invited to a breakfast by Dr. Marita Meja, general manager of Hestia-Frauenhaus, who gave a presentation on their work. On this occasion, members of our club donated cosmetic articles for the women and toys for the children. A hat was passed and the proceeds were given directly to the Dr. Meja.

By the way, Hestia e.V. is named in our club constitution as our beneficiary. “In the case of the disbandment of the BIWC or loss of its tax-privileged status (“Gemeinnützigkeit”), all assets remaining after payment or satisfaction of all liabilities go to Hestia e.V. (women’s shelter), which needs to use them immediately and exclusively for non-profit purposes.”

Other recent donations

Even though the pandemic, put a stop to many of our non-profit activities, the BIWC continued its support in 2021 for such efforts as:

– the Ahrtal flood victims (€ 500) through the German Red Cross (DRK),

– the International Club of Zagreb, Croatia (€ 200),

– the Mag International Mine Clearing NGO (€ 250),

In 2022 a donation was made to the German Red Cross (DRK) for Ukrainian refugees and a collection at our Meet & Greet yielded a further € 400.

In 2023 we donated € 500 for earthquake relief in Turkey.