AIDA Cruises has been pooling its social and cultural activities under the umbrella of AIDA Cruise & Help since 2019. With the support of guests and crew, numerous schools in developing and emerging countries have already been built to improve the future prospects of local children. AIDA Cruises is also involved in numerous other social, cultural and ecological projects, both internationally and regionally.
The latest project close to the heart is the newly opened RTL Children’s House in Rostock, which AIDA Cruise & Help is supporting with a donation of 25,000 euros. “RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” project sponsor and “Cobra11” star Erdogan Atalay celebrated the opening of the RTL children’s house “Die ARCHE Rostock” together with Arche founder Bernd Siggelkow and numerous children at the end of May 20222. Hansjörg Kunze, Vice President Communication & Sustainability at AIDA Cruises, personally presented the check at the opening. “The AIDA family helps wherever we can provide better future prospects for as many socially disadvantaged children and young people as possible. We are pleased to be able to support the first RTL Children’s House in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and to be part of the important work against child poverty in Germany,” said Hansjörg Kunze. The 19th RTL Children’s House is a place for up to 50 socially disadvantaged children from now on, where they receive a hot meal and homework help free of charge every day, as well as sustainable support through numerous leisure programs.
As part of AIDA Cruise & Help, the employees of the AIDA Customer Center and AIDA Cruises are also socially active for refugees from Ukraine. They have founded an initiative for collecting and distributing donations in kind. At the “Anchor Point,” those affected can cover their daily needs, from clothing and household goods to children’s and hygiene items. The drop-in center receives Ukrainian refugees three days a week. The Rostock-based cruise company’s aid offering is now spread over around 700 m² of office space in the AIDA Customer Center.
Together with AIDA guests, crew members and partners, AIDA Cruise & Help has been able to launch 32 school construction projects in the poorest parts of the world to date. In the coming months, new schools for local children and young people will be built in Wanu (India), Ambatondrazaka (Madagascar), Shiladevi (Nepal) and Silay City (Philippines).