"The BTU family can be counted on in these times!"

President Prof. Gesine Grande thanks all helpers for the "food bridge" for students

In the days from Christmas Day to New Year's Eve, the BTU family helped needy students with food and groceries in a relief action organized within a very short time. Starting on December 25, between 80 and 140 meals were distributed to students every day for sixteen days.

Claudia Eckert, BTU member and initiator of the campaign, says: "As a student myself, I spent a semester abroad and know from my own experience what it's like not to be able to go home for Christmas. I imagine that this will be all the more difficult for our students in this special year 2020. For me, cooking together has something unifying about it. Not only does eating together warm the stomach, it also helps during these special times and warms the souls. From a young age, my family has had guests at Christmas. And now because that's not possible this year, I unceremoniously called my friend Robert Amat Kreft and donated the food for the two Christmas holidays (25th and 26th). The team at the student club Quasimono took care of the preparation of the food. The courtyard in front of Quasimono thus became an "outdoor living room.""

To be able to start the relief action, Claudia Eckert, Prof. Gesine Grande, Prof. Heinz Nagler, Dr. Britta Rudolf and Prof. Michael Schmidt first helped with donations. Robert Amat Kreft and his team from Quasimono and Blattwerke e.V. then provided food for the students, most of whom live in the nearby student dormitories, in an open-air cooking event.

Even after the first day, it became clear that far more food was needed than originally anticipated. The difficulty was that all the stores were closed for the weekend. Spontaneously, members of the BTU and many friends of the BTU helped once again by providing personal supplies for the students. BTU President Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande says, "I would like to personally thank everyone very much for their spontaneous and generous commitment to our students. They have shown once again that we really care about our students. I would especially like to thank Claudia Eckert and Robert Amat Kreft, without whose tireless efforts none of this would have been possible. It gives me great pleasure to see how we stick together at the BTU. We will continue to do everything we can to make sure our students feel they are in good hands at all times."

Due to the great willingness to donate, the relief campaign can continue until Sunday, January 9, 2021. In addition, the donations allowed for a hot food distribution as well as a grocery bag distribution. As of Monday, January 11, the canteen of the Studentenwerk Frankfurt (Oder) opens again. A hot to-go lunch will be offered daily at the "Pizza Corner" in the cafeteria building from 12:30-14:30 p.m., as well as to-go pizza between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Many thanks to the Studentenwerk and the employees of our Mensa!

Kontakt

Dr. phil. Marita Müller
Stabsstelle Kommunikation und Marketing
T +49 (0) 355 69-3206
marita.mueller(at)b-tu.de
Meals were prepared in the open air, as here in a large wok pan in front of the Quasimono (Photo: Christmas dinner initiative)
The need is great. Students in front of the Quasimono (Photo: Christmas dinner initiative)
The helpers put together a wide range of offers (Photo: Christmas dinner initiative)
Many participated in the relief action (Photo: Christmas dinner initiative)