“Helping others”
Steering through the crisis with creativity and compassion… the hosts of the German capital have come up with a lot of ideas. Many have quietly switched to supporting and helping.
In the current situation, many companies are doing their best in regards of fighting the corona virus. They retrain their employees, manufacture protective clothing for clinics and care facilities and help in every way possible. Many service providers in our industry also show their solidarity and creativity with concrete campaigns and offers of help.
„Lights of love“ in hotel windows & support for medical staff
In March, various well-known hotels illuminated their empty hotel rooms and simulated shining hearts on their facades. It was an unmistakable gesture of solidarity and compassion, but that is not all! The teams show an unbroken spirit and great commitment.
It is very quiet in most hotels at the moment. Restaurants are closed, the only remaining guests, several businessmen, are catered via room service. Depending on individual options, the teams in Berlin’s hotels roll up their sleeves and get to work.
„Adlon … nobelsse oblige“ – baking for crisis workers and breakfast for the homeless
The famous luxury hotel Adlon Unter den Linden has seized the opportunity for several gestures of humanity:
More than 1,000 overnight vouchers were given away to medical staff to redeem after the crisis – as a thank you for their self-sacrificing work for the community.
Once a week, Adlon’s kitchen team prepares a healthy breakfast for a homeless shelter on Berlin’s Storkower Strasse free of charge.
At Easter, over 500 cute Easter lambs were baked in the kitchen of the luxury hotel in an organized effort and given away to crisis workers.[i]
Small but marvelous:
7 luxury rooms for hospital staff
The Villa Contessa Bad Saarow, “Germany’s smallest first-class hotel” (7 rooms), is located near the large Helios Clinic, approx. 70km outside of Berlin. Medical staff can stay here for free any time. This way, the clinic’s employees can save themselves the long way home late at night, especially when the workload is high. This offer seems to help a lot and is already well accepted.[ii]
Restaurants cook for heroes
Many restaurants and caterers all over Germany have spontaneously created take-away and delivery services practically overnight, thus ensuring the culinary diversity in Berlin and many other cities in the country even in times of Corona. In addition, many of them have come up with actions to support hospitals and social projects.
A grassroots movement of Berlin restaurateurs, initiated by the currently closed Kreuzberg Restaurant “Tulus Lotrek”, already united 99 businesses nationwide under the brand name “Cooking for Heroes”.
They volunteer to cook meals for people in functional jobs to replace the closed canteens. The campaign is financed through crowd funding and by donations in kind from other companies.
The “BRLO BRWHOUSE” for example uses 10% of their delivery service income to buy ingredients for the “Cooking for Heroes” initiative. With those goods they cook for people in hospitals, care facilities, etc.
Three times a week star-rated Chef Philipp Vogel from the Orania.Restaurant cooks for the homeless aid association.
After-work beer donations & disinfectant instead of schnapps
The typical Berlin pub “Derby Klause” delivers beer and regional specialties to the homes of their regular customers and other interested parties. Following the motto “only together we are strong” the pub donates two euros per invoice to the Berliner Tafel e.V. (an organization collecting and delivering donated food).
The Deutsche Spirituosen Manufaktur (producing premium spirits from Berlin) – now also produces disinfectants and in April donated several thousand bottles to 120 homes for the elderly in Berlin. [iii]
The pandemic has completely changed our everyday life – hardly anything continues as before. Many people have great ideas on how to help others, how to solve new problems with new ideas. We will continue to collect little hero stories!
[i]Tagesspiegel: Berlin – Room Service für alle Gäste. Wie das Hotel Adlon in der Coronavirus-Krise arbeitet
[ii] Stern: Reise – Deutschland – Hotelzimmer aufs Haus. Kostenloser Luxus für die Helden der Corona-Krise
[iii] Tagesspiegel: Themen – Genuss – Update aus der Gastronomie. Kochen, spenden, überleben helfen
