UNICEF donation of 100,000 euros for current emergency relief efforts

Hamburg-based life science company Eppendorf has launched a comprehensive support package for refugees from Ukraine. The program is designed to provide rapid and uncomplicated assistance to those in need of protection. It includes a cash donation of 100,000 euros to the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, as well as an internal company aid program. This enables European Eppendorf employees to take time off with continued payment of wages and salaries to get involved in refugee relief, if they wish to do so.

"Numerous colleagues at Eppendorf have family members or friends from Ukraine, some of which are still in Ukraine," said Eva van Pelt and Dr. Peter Fruhstorfer, Co-CEOs of Eppendorf SE. "With our Corporate Volunteering Program, we give them and all employees of our company in Europe the opportunity to get involved with and volunteer for a refugee support organization during working hours."

For this purpose, the more than 3,300 Eppendorf employees working for the company in Europe can take up to eight paid working hours off, the Co-CEOs added. This arrangement is valid until the end of the year and will be handled unbureaucratically and very flexibly.

100,000 euros for UNICEF for direct aid along refugee routes

With a cash donation of 100,000 euros, Eppendorf is supporting the work of UNICEF and its partners in areas where aid is particularly urgently needed. Among other things, the money will go to so-called "Blue Dots" that UNICEF is currently setting up in Poland, Moldova, Romania, Belarus, Hungary and Slovakia. These are contact points along the escape routes that can provide 3,000 to 5,000 people a month with initial emergency care. Here, refugees – especially children – receive initial medical care and psychosocial support to help them work through the trauma of flight and violence. Families find a safe place to sleep, as well as advice and information. Furthermore, the Blue Dots also help identify unaccompanied children separated from their parents and ensure their protection. In addition, UNICEF, together with its partners, also helps directly in the conflict areas – as far as this is possible. They bring urgently needed relief supplies directly to Ukraine, such as food, water, hygiene items and medical equipment for hospitals.

"It was our goal to support an organization with our donation that helps refugees directly and quickly, offers them safety and provides psychological as well as medical assistance," Eva van Pelt and Dr. Peter Fruhstorfer explain the decision. "With UNICEF, we have found exactly this partner. We are very happy about that."

About Eppendorf

Eppendorf is a leading life science company and develops, manufactures, and distributes systems for use in laboratories around the world. Divided into the four core business areas Liquid Handling, Consumables, Separation & Instrumentation and Lab Solutions, the product portfolio includes pipettes, pipette tips, centrifuges, mixers and ultra-low temperature instruments. In addition, Eppendorf offers a wide range of high-quality consumables. The Lab Solutions division works on digital solutions for complete laboratory workflows.

Eppendorf products are used in academic or industrial research laboratories, for example in companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, and food industries. However, Eppendorf products are also used in clinical or environmental analysis laboratories, in forensics and in industrial laboratories for process analysis, production and quality assurance. 

Eppendorf has been active since 1945, is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. The Group has subsidiaries in 33 countries and is represented by sales partners on all continents and in all major markets.

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