GEA supports German elementary schools with 3,000 protective masks

The new school year has kicked off in most of Germany, and with it, new hygiene requirements. In most of Germany’s federal states every elementary school child is required to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose while they are in school or on school premises.

And when a child discovers they’ve accidentally forgotten their mask at home? Parents then have to make an extra trip from home, or leave the workplace in the morning specifically for this purpose to bring their child a mask without which they cannot enter the school grounds or attend classes. This exact situation was already experienced by several parents who work at GEA’s Oelde facility and whose children attend local schools, and was the inspiration for GEA’s most recent donation of protective masks.

The official request, coming from the Overberg Elementary School in Oelde, was quickly acknowledged by the GEA Executive Board, and two days later, principal Antonia Hegemann was already holding the boxes containing the 3,000 masks in her hands: "Unfortunately, we have not yet received the delivery of replacement masks which were promised to us by the region,” Hegemann explained. “Therefore, we are thrilled with this donation from GEA. This will eliminate a lot of stress each morning – not only for the teachers and the children, but also for parents.". The masks were immediately distributed among all Oelde elementary schools, each of them very thankful for the kind support shown by GEA.