Supporting People with Disabilities

Since 1981, the Landesamt für Soziales, Jugend und Versorgung in Rhineland-Palatinate has hosted an exhibition and competition with the title “Handicapped People Paint”. This year, the artists focused on the motto of “Dream Journey”. From about 1,200 submitted images, a jury selected 136 works for the exhibition. Thirteen of these adorn the calendar that was available at Boehringer Ingelheim’s German locations. Employees could leave a voluntary donation for their exemplar.

The collected donations were committed to Brother Ulrich Schmitz of the atelier of the monastery of Ebernach and to Linda Christ of the Schmiedel e.V. association for disabled assistance. The money will be used for the expansion of their painting therapy programme.

The exhibition is a tradition at Boehringer Ingelheim. “I look forward to the exhibition every year and I am always amazed by the pictures and the stories behind them”, relates Olaf Guttzeit, representative for employees with heavy disabilities at Boehringer-Ingelheim. “The personal communication with the artists reaffirms our work every time and shows that our support reaches the right places. At Boehringer-Ingelheim, inclusive togetherness is an integral part of the corporate culture.” At the moment, about 300 people with disabilities work at the Ingelheim site.