Looking back at 2020 and looking forward to 2021 are inextricably linked. For all of us, the year was marked by the collective experience of the global pandemic and few look to the future without concern. However, the vaccine found in record time by international research and the vaccinations already started give reason for optimism that we will soon be able to meet colleagues and customers, partners and prospects in person again.
Even though we at Innosoft are a little proud to have come through the crisis without a single day of short-time work, to have kept the offices open at all times and to have been available and active for you at all times, the patience is beginning to show signs of wearing thin. Some colleagues have been in the home office for ten months now, and the webinars, online presentations and daily video conferences cannot replace personal contact. The longing is great for something we actually all found not so nice in the past: everyday working life.
Nevertheless, amidst all the depressing news, there is also reason to be confident that a better year will follow 2020, which was without question a very special year. One that, unfortunately, we will have few good memories of. Even at the beginning, pressing problems such as climate collapse or the unbelievably devastating fires in Australia were soon pushed into the background by a collective event that only disaster movie writers could have imagined.
At the end of the year, it even gets particularly tough when, after all the previous restrictions and deprivations, the big celebrations of Christmas and New Year’s Eve also fall victim to the virus in their usual form. This affects us all, but there are a large number of people who have far more fundamental problems than limiting the Christmas dinner guest list. So when it came to the recipients of our annual donations, we asked ourselves who has been hit hardest by this pandemic that affects everyone.
As much as the current and seemingly unlimited lockdown is a massive burden for all of us, one can see striking differences if one takes a look at what our modest remedies against Corona are: Hygiene. And quarantine, isolation. Stay at home and keep your distance. So what do all those do who have no home at all? Refugees and seasonal workers living in overcrowded camps or hostels. Distance and hygiene are certainly not in good shape there.
And finally, the increasing number of homeless people who have been living on the streets for far too long, right in our neighbourhood. The first lockdown in March 2020 was already bad, but there was spring, which made a lot of things easier to bear. Now it’s cold, wet and gloomy. Yes, as much as it sucks, we have it pretty good when we have to lock ourselves inside our very own four walls.
This year, we are therefore distributing our donations exclusively to initiatives that help people without homes. As a regionally rooted company, we like to support not only internationally active aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, UN Refugee Aid, Amnesty International and Unicef, but also helpers from the surrounding area, which is why Gast-Haus, Bodo and DoDog are also on the list of recipients, as they are strongly committed to the needs of homeless people and offer them direct, immediate help.
We would be very pleased if we have acted in your interest. Below you will find a list of the recipients and their web addresses for further information. And if you would like to use it as inspiration, all the better: There are also comparable initiatives in your area that care for and about such people, who are unfortunately encountered in increasing numbers year after year.
The only thing left for us to do is to wish you all a merry Christmas and a buoyant start to what we hope will be a less worrisome 2021. May you and all those close to you remain healthy, strong and confident. Innosoft will be at your service again in 2021 as usual!
With best regards and best wishes for relaxed celebrations
Your Innosoft GmbH
Donation recipients 2020:
Doctors without Borders e.V.
Aid organization for emergency medical aid in crisis and war zones, medical care in refugee camps.
Gast-Haus e.V.
Ecumenical homeless initiative in Dortmund that supports people without shelter with clothing, food, places to warm up and basic hygienic and medical care.
German Committee for UNICEF e.V.
Where Unicef works, Corona is only one of many problems. Poor living conditions, including a lack of hygiene and food, pave the way for numerous diseases.
bodo e.V.
The aim of the association, which also publishes the homeless magazine of the same name, is to support and socially reintegrate people whose lives have gone off the rails.
Amnesty International Germany e.V.
In the worldwide commitment to human rights, and thus also to the most important good next to health: human dignity!
DoDog e.V.
The aid project for animals of homeless people. When the most faithful and often only companion of people without a home falls ill, the vet bill is often unaffordable. Here help is provided without payment.
UNO Refugee Help e.V.
Their commitment is always in demand, whether for Rohingya in Bangladesh, civil war refugees in Yemen or the asylum seekers in the new camp on Lesbos, the successor to the notorious Moria camp.
Company holidays
Innosoft is taking a short break! From 24 December 2020 to 3 January 2021, the offices will exceptionally remain unoccupied. From 4 January 2021 we will be there for you again!