For decades, the Volkswagen workforce has assumed social responsibility for those in need: in the so-called employee donation alone, the employees of Volkswagen AG and the company donated a total of around 725,000 euros in 2022. In this way we help disadvantaged people at the Volkswagen AG locations. Concrete projects are supported which, for example, improve the situation of people whose quality of life is impaired by illness, disability or other circumstances. For example, the Hospice Foundation in Gifhorn received a donation of € 70,000,-- for a further construction phase. Furthermore, the projects "Kleine Kinder immer satt" and "Kinder brauchen Zukunft" from Gifhorn, as well as the "Starthilfe" Helmstedt and the Starthilfe Tabula in Wolfsburg, received a total of € 90,000,--. Likewise, leisure activities can be realized with socially disadvantaged families for which there would otherwise be no funds available.
In 2022, the willingness of the workforce to donate was particularly evident in the joint appeal for donations "Emergency Aid Ukraine" in favour of the UN Refugee Aid Germany, which amounted to a total of over 1.7 million euros.
Restcentspende: Donations terre des hommes
Another regular form of donation by the workforce is the so-called Restcentspende: Every month, numerous employees donate the remaining cents that appear after the decimal point on their payslip. The income supplements the sustainable financing of the projects at the Group's locations around the world. The company's workforce has been supporting the international children's charity terre des hommes for more than 23 years on the initiative and under the leadership of the group works council. In 2022, the donation amount was over 1.1 million euros. At the Volkswagen Group's production sites in Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and Germany, a variety of projects for disadvantaged children and young people are funded from the donations. They receive protection, care and the opportunity for education as well as professional prospects.
Regardless of these achievements by the workforce, the company makes extensive donations to social, cultural and sustainability purposes.