Consumers can #HelpMothers!

On April 22nd BIPA in cooperation with Procter & Gamble start this year's fundraising campaign #MütternHelfen (#helpingmothers) in favour of the Caritas initiative #wirtun (#wedo). The aim is to collect 100,000 euros for mothers and children in need by the end of May through the support of BIPA customers. 

More than 500,000 women in Austria are at risk of poverty and this number is increasing with the ongoing corona crisis. In order to help affected women and mothers directly, to give them courage and confidence and to enable new opportunities, BIPA and P&G are supporting the Caritas initiative #wirtun for the fourth time this year with the fundraising campaign #MütternHelfen. Within the framework of #wirtun, Caritas provides those affected in the 12 Caritas mother-child homes with housing facilities, counselling hours and products for daily needs. Together, the long-standing partners would like to collect 100,000 euros for at least 3,000 overnight stays in the facilities from April 22nd to May 19th 2021. This year, the campaign can again be easily supported by consumers: With every purchase of a pack of the brands Ariel, Gillette Venus, Oral-B, Pampers and Pantene in the BIPA Online Shop or in a BIPA branch, the donation pot is filled by 0.25 euros. 

Thomas Lichtblau, BIPA CEO: "We are pleased that the donation project #MütternHelfen will continue in 2021 and that together with P&G we will be able to help mothers at risk of poverty and their children in a meaningful and unbureaucratic way. For many years, we have been supporting Caritas Austria with various charity projects, such as the 'Rounding up makes miracles happen' initiative, where customers can round up to the next 10-cent amount at the checkout with the words 'Round up, please' and thus support aid projects in Austria." 

Social commitment is also firmly anchored in the corporate culture at Procter & Gamble. "As one of the largest consumer goods manufacturers, we supply millions of women and mothers with products for their daily needs every day - so we also see it as our responsibility to help, especially in times of crisis, and to provide direct assistance to those in need," says Christian Zimlich, Country Manager P&G Austria, adding, "We are also very proud of our long-standing and close partnership with Caritas and BIPA, as well as our fundraising campaign, which is particularly important at this time." 

Women's poverty also present in Austria: over 500,000 are affected 

More than 13%; one in eight; 1.16 million Austrians are at risk of poverty - more than half of them (513,000) are female and over 18 years of age. The reasons for this are low income, lack of insurance periods in old age due to childcare and care work, and a large pension gap. Single-parent households have the highest poverty risk of all household types with a rate of 32 % - in Austria these are predominantly single women with their children. The corona pandemic is also making itself felt here: in January 2021, 140,000 people were considered long-term unemployed. Compared to the previous year, there is an increase of almost 47 % among women (men: +41.1 %). 

In the 12 mother-child houses run by Caritas, homeless mothers and their children find a protective roof over their heads and support to be able to rebuild a secure future for themselves in the long term. Here they are also provided with daily necessities and can take advantage of counselling services. Women come to the Caritas facilities with their children because they are in an acute crisis. Many of them live on the poverty line, could no longer pay the rent due to unemployment, have lost their home or have experienced violence. The women often have a long history of suffering and are in urgent need of support, especially in the still ongoing corona crisis. 

"Three years ago, together with Doris Schmidauer, we launched #wirtun, an initiative for women in need. The most important goal is to give mothers and their children a protective roof over their heads, to offer a place of support and to enable a new start. This help is especially important now. The families are accompanied by a multi-professional team. The need for donations for this important help is great. Therefore, we are very grateful for the continued support of strong and committed partners from the business community. Together with the P&G and BIPA customers, we can help directly and give hope and confidence to children and their mothers in need," Klaus Schwertner, Managing Director of Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, is pleased about the continuation of the fundraising campaign. 

BIPA, P&G and Caritas: strong partners also in times of crisis 

For three years now, BIPA has been successfully carrying out a fundraising campaign in favour of the Caritas initiative #wirtun together with its long-standing partner P&G, one of the largest consumer goods manufacturers worldwide. The donation target of 100,000 euros has always been exceeded in the past years - a total of almost 350,000 euros could be collected through the joint campaign and 9,000 overnight accommodations for mothers and children in need could be created or renovated. In addition, the offer of psychological help could be expanded and support for the start of working life could be provided. 

The progress of the fundraising campaign can be followed from 22nd April onwards via the donation counter on the BIPA website www.bipa.at or on the cash vouchers issued during the campaign period.