International Children’s Day – 2019. No-one could have seen it coming. A mere few months on, and children around the globe are plunged into a pandemic – compelled to share the same experience, everywhere. In the midst of the crisis, several Freudenberg Business Groups take action to at least meet the children’s basic needs at such a difficult time.
With the world living and working at a distance, social interaction has largely been put on hold. But employees at Freudenberg Oil & Gas Technologies in Houston, Texas, USA, refused to acquiesce to such a sorry state of affairs. Instead, they set off in search of solutions to help support social interaction among the workforce and the children of employees. The idea: to entice the youngsters away from the TV and games consoles and provide them with a more meaningful experience. Goals in mind, the company launched a virtual story drive April 2020.
Employees from all Freudenberg Oil & Gas Technologies facilities were called on to share their favorite childhood tales, record a favorite children’s story on video and send to the Marketing team, who then uploaded them to the company’s online reading library. Throughout the year, 25 videos were submitted – from employees and some of their older offspring – from Dubai, the UK, Canada, Malaysia, Norway, the USA ... Amazingly, with no less than 527 clicks, the videos turned into a very special personal encounter between young and old.
Fast forward to spring 2021. Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies launches a painting competition in Queretaro, Mexico, to help alleviate the boredom and loneliness of young people during the pandemic. The motto: “What do I see and feel in the pandemic?” encouraged the children of employees to reach for the pen, brush, paint and words to express their feelings in art form. The criteria of creativity and originality set for the competition served more as motivation than as a constraint. The children were asked for their own ideas – and to bring them to life using their hands or design tools. The young artists worked with tremendous zest and, within just two weeks, created 60 works of art. For the jury, one thing was certain: The painting competition exceeded all expectations.
Vibracoustic had previously held a painting competition at its facility in Martorell, Spain, in July 2020. The competition’s motto: “How can I protect myself from COVID-19” was used to raise awareness of hygiene protocols among employees’ children early on in the pandemic. The initiative was so well-received that on International Children’s Day on June 1, the “go-ahead” was given for a further painting competition – this time, involving all 41 Vibracoustic facilities. The motto: "Together through the COVID-19 pandemic".
Winning photo of the children’s painting competition in Spain in 2020.
Photos above: Four works of art from the Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies painting competition.
Photos above: Four works of art from the Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies painting competition.
Photos above: Four works of art from the Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies painting competition.
Photos above: Four works of art from the Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies painting competition.
