Why are some people doing so badly whilst we’re doing so well? We don’t know either. What we do know, however, is that others have to struggle with hunger, homelessness or floods, whilst we want for nothing. Here at SIP Scootershop, we have a job we enjoy. We’ve got enough free time to tinker with our scooters and always have a few euros to spare for a pizza and a beer. The images of the floods in 2002 in eastern Germany and in 2005 in Asia deeply moved all of us here, which is why we too decided spontaneously to make a donation. And that’s how the idea for SIP Aid was born.
What’s the idea behind it? We want to set aside a portion of our earnings for charitable causes. We make regular, substantial donations to SOS Children’s Villages e. V., ARCHE Germany, Humedica and the Red Cross, to name but a few.
SIP AID donations from 2002 to the present day
January 2026
Mary’s Meals is an international organisation that provides hungry children with access to education through school meals. A daily school meal is a strong incentive for children to attend lessons. This gives them a basic education, offering them the chance to escape poverty. It costs just €22.00 to provide one child with a daily school meal for a whole academic year. We have supported Mary’s Meals on several occasions in the past and today donated €3,000 to the organisation – this will enable 136 children to receive school meals for one year. https://www.marysmeals.de
“The year has got off to a wonderful start – once again, SIP Scootershop has honoured us with a very generous donation – for which we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. As I mentioned in my Christmas email, we were able to enrol many new children in our school meals programmes last year. Your donation helps ensure that we can keep our promise to these children: that they will continue to receive a nutritious meal at school and thus have a chance to break free from the cycle of poverty. Many thanks and warm regards, Tatjana von Rosen – Volunteer Fundraising Member, Mary’s Meals Deutschland e. V.”
February 2026
Anna Jahnke is a cheerful and attentive child. However, she requires a great deal of attention and support from her parents in her day-to-day life, as well as expensive assistive devices, as she has dyskinetic spasticity. This manifests itself in a constant alternation between extreme muscle tension and sudden muscle relaxation. The 14-year-old is dependent on a wheelchair. We have now helped the Jahnke family (her dad is an enthusiastic scooter rider himself) with a donation of €3,000.
Anyone who would also like to support the family from Diessen am Ammersee can do so easily with just a few clicks via this GoFundMe campaign: https://gofund.me/2814c2b7b
May 2026
SIP Scootershop becomes a sponsor of HC Landsberg. The Bavarian League ice hockey club HC Landsberg will in future be supported by SIP Scootershop from Landsberg . Ralf Jodl: “We at SIP and HCL share similar goals. We strive for the greatest possible success without losing sight of our social responsibility.” Christoph Hicks (HCL sponsorship team) also had positive things to say: “We are very proud to have SIP Scootershop and its owners, Ralf Jodl and Alex Barth, on our side – another company that is firmly rooted in Landsberg whilst also being well known far beyond the city limits. We are very much looking forward to working together.”
February 2025
On 8 February 2025, an inclusive charity football tournament for veterans’ teams took place for the tenth time at the Hurlach Sports and Culture Hall. Many teams were taking part for the umpteenth time, including a team from SIP Scootershop. This was a real highlight, as they were looking forward both to playing football and to catching up with old friends. The proceeds of approximately 4,500 euros will go to the Friends’ Association and will be used to fund a sound system for the ‘Kultur im Gewächshaus’ project. SIP Scootershop supported the tournament with a donation of 250 euros.
May 2025
“UM HALB AN DER BAR”is a registered charity that supports scooterists who have been involved in accidents and their bereaved families. The name comes from a well-known scooter slogan that symbolises getting together and celebrating within the scooter community. Everell, the face and driving force behind “Um Halb an der Bar”, joined us at our Open Day and helped us collect donations. We’re delighted with the €425 we raised! Support the charity by buying merchandise here!
September 2025
The inauguration of the new Arche building took place recently. With a donation cheque for €3,000, our team of five set off for Arche Landsberg. Even from the outside, the building’s awe-inspiring scale was impressive, and once inside it quickly became clear: no expense had been spared on space here. Accessibility and plenty of room for memories, friendships and everyday wonders are at the heart of the design.
Sebastian guided us through the rooms, sharing amusing anecdotes – highlights included the prayer room and a large bath with a USB connection and lighting features to create a genuine spa atmosphere. To round off the visit, we enjoyed tea, pastries and coffee in a warm and friendly atmosphere. We set off on our return journey with our hearts full – deeply moved by the zest for life of the unique residents.
Thank you for the warm welcome – we’d love to come back!
December 2025
At our Advent shopping event on Saturday 6 December, we served punch and waffles in exchange for donations. We raised nearly €300, which we’re topping up to €500 and donating to the children’s hospice in Bad Grönenbach. You can find out more about the work of the children’s hospice here: https://www.kinderhospiz-nikolaus.de Thank you to all our donors!
September 2024
We have been supporting the ARCHE Landsberg residential community for many years. The aim of ARCHE is to create communities that welcome people with intellectual disabilities. People without disabilities and those with intellectual disabilities live together in one house and organise their daily lives together. Every member of the household has their own room. Meals are prepared and eaten together, and housekeeping is also a communal task. There has been an ARCHE house in Landsberg with 12 residents since 2001. At our Open Day in May, we invited visitors to have a free SIP tattoo done; for every tattoo, we donate €200. Twelve brave souls came forward to have their tattoos done by Landsberg-based tattoo artist Bene Bader – and, as promised, we are donating the €2,400 to ARCHE! Thank you to all the brave souls, and thank you to Bene Bader and Studio22 SkinArt for this fantastic initiative!
October 2024
Once again this year, we are taking part in the Landsberg LIONS Club’s Advent Calendar: there are prizes worth €28,000 to be won, and the calendars are on sale in Landsberg for €6 each. We are contributing 4× €50 Gift Certificates for the SIP Scootershop. The Lions Club uses the proceeds from the calendar campaign to fund its wide-ranging charitable work: https://landsberg-am-lech.lions.de/projekte
November 2024
SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Mary’s Meals. Thanks to our contribution, this charitable organisation is able to give hope to starving children in the world’s poorest countries through food and education, even in difficult times. Mary’s Meals is an international organisation that enables starving children to access education through school meals. A daily school meal is a strong incentive for children to attend lessons. This gives them a basic education, offering them the chance to escape poverty. Find out more about Mary’s Meals: https://www.marysmeals.de
January 2023: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.
For many years, we have been supporting the charity Humanitäre Hilfe e.V., led by the Landsberg-based cardiologist Dr Soeren Gatz. A whole host of retired doctors are not here to improve their golf handicap, but to improve healthcare in Cameroon and Tanzania. With no organisational red tape, but plenty of passion and dedication, aid reaches the places on the ground where it is most urgently needed. Our donation will be used to purchase a transoesophageal ultrasound probe, which will benefit St Benedict’s Convent Hospital in Ndanda, southern Tanzania. Using this technique, doctors examine the various heart chambers, blood vessels and heart valves via the oesophagus: as there are only a few millimetres between the oesophagus and the heart, razor-sharp images of the beating heart and its structures can be produced, which significantly improves diagnosis. Dr Gatz will personally hand over the device on 14 February 2023 and offer a specialised course in transoesophageal echocardiography for local doctors, so that this modern and now indispensable technique is also available in southern Tanzania.
April 2023: SIP Scootershop donates €500 to the Ruethenfestverein e.V.
Every four years, a wonderful medieval children’s festival called the Ruethenfest takes place in Landsberg. More than 1,000 children take part, and many adults volunteer their time. We are supporting the Ruethenfestverein with a donation of €500. https://www.ruethenfest.de
August 2023: SIP Scootershop donates €5,000 to Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.
We have received a message from Dr Soeren Gatz of the organisation Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.: “I am fighting to save the life of a seven-year-old boy, Alan Christ, who has a congenital heart defect (pulmonary stenosis, atrial septal defect) in Foumban, Cameroon. I have presented his medical reports to Prof. Ewert at the German Heart Centre in Munich and have managed to secure an early surgery date for him. So far, we have only raised €7,000 of the €12,000 needed, and the date is drawing ever closer, so I am now urgently asking all friends and relatives to help us. As you know, I have been working in Cameroon for 12 years now and have successfully arranged for several children with heart conditions to undergo surgery at the Cardiac Centre in Shissong, Cameroon. The civil war has destroyed this centre, and I must now bring Alan to Germany so that he does not die whilst on the waiting list, as other children before him have. Planned procedure at the German Heart Centre in Munich: 9 November 2023 – cardiac catheterisation, balloon dilation of the pulmonary valve, stent implantation, and possibly also in the ductus arteriosus.
We have given Dr Gatz the remaining €5,000 needed for little Alan’s operation and are now keeping our fingers crossed for a successful procedure! Update January 2024: The operation was a complete success.
November 2023: SIP Scootershop donates €200 to the Lions Club
As we do every year, we are donating €200 to the Landsberg am Lech Lions Club for the Advent Calendar. For several years now, the Lions Advent Calendar has been an indispensable companion through the run-up to Christmas for many people in the Landsberg district: Instead of chocolate, for €6 you get 25 chances to win prizes with a total value of over €28,000. The Lions Club uses the proceeds from calendar sales to support selected projects: https://landsberg-am-lech.lions.de/
Video trailer for the Ruethenfest 2023
March 2022: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières to support relief efforts in Ukraine
On 24 February, the Russian military launched attacks on Ukraine across multiple fronts. The images and news reaching us from Kyiv and other cities are harrowing. We have many customers in Ukraine and are in constant contact with some members of the Vespa Club Ukraine. From Germany, we can only watch the images of this senseless war helplessly, but with our donation we are helping the organisation Médecins Sans Frontières, which is already on the ground, to provide effective aid.
In Ukraine, Médecins Sans Frontières has delivered supplies to treat war casualties in Mariupol. Staff have also organised a telemedicine training course for 30 surgeons from eastern Ukraine on how to treat the injured.
Emergency response teams from Médecins Sans Frontières have arrived at the Polish-Ukrainian border. They are currently attempting to transport staff and relief supplies into Ukraine and to launch emergency relief operations on both sides of the border. At the border crossings, the teams are seeing people crossing the border on foot, in cars and on buses. Some of them are travelling with children and babies, the youngest of whom are not even 25 days old. Many of the refugees are tired and exhausted.
They report having had to wait in queues for hours at the border in freezing temperatures. Some were dehydrated and others were suffering from hypothermia. Médecins Sans Frontières has provided relief supplies for the construction of emergency shelters at a Polish reception centre and is working to scale up its support.
In addition, teams along Ukraine’s borders with Russia and Belarus will carry out a more detailed assessment of the situation.
Given the ongoing fighting, it is difficult to determine the extent of medical needs in Ukraine. Médecins Sans Frontières is preparing for a range of scenarios in order to scale up its assistance.
May 2022: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to the ARCHE residential community
SIP Scootershop has been supporting the ARCHE residential community for people with and without intellectual disabilities since 2011. At the Open Day on 28 May, we presented €3,000 to ARCHE Landsberg. ARCHE Landsberg is a community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together as equals on a Christian-ecumenical basis. “As we want to enable even more people with and without intellectual disabilities to live together in an inclusive and meaningful way through mutual relationships, we are planning to build a new house in the Staufenstraße development area and to accommodate a further 10 residents alongside our current 10 residents in residential and day care.”
August 2022: SIP Scootershop hands over donations to Kyiv
Pastor Friedemann, organiser of the Vespa Corso Munich, raised over €1,900 in donations in May for Vespa riders in Ukraine. Where is the need greatest? We don’t know, so we asked in Kyiv. “We’d finally like to do something that brings us joy again – we’d like to build a Vespa.” No sooner said than done – here you can see Sasha from Z-Garage putting the final touches to the Engine. Have fun, guys! Peace to you all soon!
September 2022: Scooter ride raises £1,300 for the Children’s Cancer Foundation in the UK
We provided raffle prizes for the scooter ride organised to raise funds for the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund. The sale of raffle tickets raised the fantastic sum of 1,300 GBP (approx. 1,490 €)!
“On behalf of the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund, I would like to thank you for donating the raffle prizes for the scooter ride on 25 September. With your help, the ride raised a fantastic £1,300. Since 1992, the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund has been working hard to make a positive difference to the lives of children with cancer and their families. This is achieved through a range of important projects, such as emotional support, care grants and respite holidays. Care grants are awarded to families struggling with the financial consequences of a child’s diagnosis with cancer or leukaemia. The families we support are given a much-needed break from hospitals, doctors and treatments, during which everyone can sit back, relax and take time to reconnect as a family. Thank you once again for your support. Kind regards, Sara Payne, Community Events Coordinator”
September 2022 SIP Scootershop donates €2,000 to the family of a boy with leukaemia
Little Max, aged 5, has been diagnosed with leukaemia. On top of the shock of the diagnosis come everyday worries: his mum cannot start her new job as she has to make regular trips to the hospital. This results in significant travel and petrol costs, whilst the mortgage payments must be met on time. Friends have launched a fundraising campaign via the platform https://www.gofundme.com/f/qvf25-hilfe-fr-max SIP Scootershop has decided, as part of the SIP AID initiative, to support the family with €2,000, whilst the Landsberg Lions Club is actively assisting with the arrangements. All the best, Max!
December 2022 SIP Scootershop donates food worth €3,000 to Ukraine
Here in Germany, we are celebrating Christmas in a peaceful country. Ukraine has been under attack by Russia for more than 300 days. The images from the front line, as well as from the bombed-out cities, move us deeply. We are glad to be able to make at least a small contribution to humanity and peace through food donations. A team from Landsberg drove deep into Ukraine in our Sprinter and delivered food donations, power generators and warm shoe insoles. Here is the detailed report with photos and a short video: https://sip.shop/ukraine
January 2021: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to HUMEDICA in Sicily
“Jan is an engineer. He comes from Pakistan and was forced to flee for political reasons. The fact that he is now able to live in Sicily with his wife and three children is largely thanks to the support of local aid organisations. They looked after him from the moment he set foot on Italian soil and stood by him whilst he spent his first few weeks in a refugee camp. But they continued to be there for him even after that. Without them, for example, he would not have been able to obtain a residence permit, which allows him not only to work but also to bring his family over. In return, Jan got involved in refugee aid himself, giving language lessons and looking after refugees living on the streets. And he set up his own business to stand on his own two feet. He earned a living for himself and his family by repairing electrical appliances – until the coronavirus pandemic struck. There are quite a few people like Jan in Sicily. Most of them are not as well off as he is. They are stranded in a country that is not their own, poorly integrated and left to cope alone with their traumatic memories. Those living in a refugee camp are provided for, but immigration applications are not being processed due to the coronavirus pandemic. And outside the camps, too, everything has ground to a halt. Shops, bars and restaurants are closed; refugees who had previously managed to get by with odd jobs are no longer needed. They suddenly find themselves without an income. There is no social safety net like the one in Germany. Our local partner, Missione Tre Onlus, has made it their mission to support them. Thanks to a generous donation of over €3,000 from the SIP Scootershop in Landsberg, together we can provide 30 families with food and gas bottles throughout the winter. Because even in Sicily, the winter is cold. Many thanks to the SIP Scootershop in Landsberg for their invaluable support." HUMEDICA Sicily
April 2021: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Mary’s Meals
Mary’s Meals’ simple vision is that every child should receive one meal a day at school and that those who have more than they need should share with those who lack even the bare necessities of life. “Children suffering from hunger are at the heart of our work. We provide them with a hot meal wherever we find them. At the same time, we strive to put an end to their hunger in the long term. We do this in partnership with all those who share our vision.”Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder and director of Mary’s Meals
July 2021: SIP Scootershop donates €5,000 to Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.
For 34 years, Dr Soeren Gatz was a senior consultant at Landsberg Hospital. Ten years ago, the 72-year-old took early retirement to fulfil a dream he had harboured since his days as a medical student: to bring medical aid to people in the developing world. He is a founding member of the charity ‘Humanitäre Hilfe e.V. Landsberg, Partner für Gesundheit und Bildung’. The association was founded in 2005 by doctors and nursing staff at the hospital in Landsberg am Lech and now has around 100 members, many of whom sacrifice their annual leave or special leave to help those in need. Dr Soeren Gatz has been the association’s chairman since 2019. Alexander Barth, one of the managing directors of SIP Scootershop, has been supporting the association’s work for several years with regular donations. At the beginning of July 2021, a further 5,000 euros was handed over to Dr Soeren Gatz and his team. Read more about this here on the SIP Team Blog.
September 2021: SIP Scootershop donates 15,000 medical masks to India
India has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In many areas, people lack the bare essentials; with no other options available, they are trying to make masks out of leaves. We have donated 15,000 medical masks to India, where they were distributed by priests. Read more about this initiative here on the SIP Team Blog.
January 2020: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to ARCHE
As has been the case for the past 10 years, employees of SIP Scootershop GmbH visited the ARCHE community on Wednesday 22 January 2020 and presented a donation of €3,000.
Arche Landsberg is a community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together as equals on a Christian-ecumenical basis. “As we want to enable even more people with and without intellectual disabilities to live together inclusively and meaningfully in reciprocal relationships, we are planning to build a new house in the Staufenstraße development area and to accommodate a further 10 residents in addition to our current 10 residents in residential and day care settings. The donation from SIP Scootershop comes at just the right time, as we cannot achieve this on our own. What is particularly special about the donation from SIP Scootershop is that, time and again, different members of staff come to visit us; they don’t just hand over the cheque, but show a genuine interest by asking questions, taking a tour of the house and chatting with our residents and colleagues over pastries and coffee. We are also invited to SIP Scootershop’s headquarters, and we receive the odd small donation from time to time. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for this friendship, which has now lasted a decade, and for the financial support for inclusion and the common good, and we are already looking forward to our next meeting!"
March 2020: SIP supports aid for Cameroon
At the end of 2014, we first supported Dr Gatz, a doctor from Landsberg, with his hospital project in Cameroon. We did so by providing what we do best: logistics. This time, we helped with the shipment of decommissioned hospital beds and a second-hand ultrasound scanner.
Further information on the “Humanitarian Aid” project: www.humanitaere-hilfe-ev.de
April 2020: SIP donates FFP2 Respiratory Masks #covid19
In mid-March, the procurement department at SIP Scootershop GmbH contacted Chinese business partners to organise Respiratory Masks in light of the shortage that persists to this day. After a few delays at customs, these have now arrived, and SIP Scootershop has donated FFP2 Respiratory Masks to the Landsberg District Office’s civil protection service, which is taking charge of the central coordination of distribution as required.
November 2020: SIP helps organise a charity raffle for children’s hospitals
The organiser of the annual Vespa Corso Munich, Reverend Friedemann Steck, raffled off a new Vespa Primavera/Sprint 50cc – donated by PIAGGIO Germany. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Foundation of the Children’s Hospital in Schwabing and to the Ospedale Evangelico Betania in Naples. We were among those who handled the sale of the raffle tickets, and 100 per cent of the proceeds, totalling €625, were passed on to Reverend Steck.
The draw took place on the first Sunday of Advent, 29 November 2020, at 3 pm, live at www.facebook.com/vespacorsomuenchen – the video is archived there.
November 2019: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to HUMEDICA
SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to HUMEDICA e.V., headquartered in Kaufbeuren, near Landsberg, an international non-governmental organisation which has provided humanitarian aid in over 90 countries since its foundation in 1979. The aim of humedica’s work is to help people who are in need as a result of disasters or structural poverty – currently the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia.
October 2019: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Mary’s Meals
SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Mary’s Meals. Every school day, Mary’s Meals provides hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest children with a hot meal. Food and schooling enable these children to escape the cycle of misery and poverty. Founded in 1992, the charity’s vision is for every child to receive one meal a day at school. Mary’s Meals currently feeds around 1.3 million children in Africa.
December 2019: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to SOS Children’s Villages
Since 2005, the SOS Children’s Village in Ammersee-Lech has been delighted to receive an annual donation from SIP Scootershop in Landsberg. This year was no exception: staff from SIP Scootershop visited in person to present division manager Angelica Benz with a cheque for €3,000 for the SOS Children’s Village in Ammersee-Lech.
May 2018: SIP Scootershop donates €400 to Arche Landsberg
At the SIP Scootershop Open Day on 5 May 2018, the SIP team carried out performance tests on scooters in return for a donation of €10 each and presented the proceeds of €400 to representatives of Arche Landsberg e.V.
SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to HUMEDICA
SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to humedica e.V., headquartered in Kaufbeuren, near Landsberg, an international non-governmental organisation which has provided humanitarian aid in over 90 countries since its foundation in 1979. The aim of humedica’s work is to help people who are in need as a result of disasters or structural poverty – currently the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia.
October 2018: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Mary’s Meals
SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to Mary’s Meals. Every school day, Mary’s Meals provides hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest children with a hot meal. Food and education enable these children to break free from the cycle of misery and poverty. Founded in 1992, the charity’s vision is for every child to receive one meal a day at school. Mary’s Meals currently feeds around 1.3 million children in Africa.
December 2018: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to SOS Children’s Villages
Since 2005, the SOS Children’s Village in Ammersee-Lech has been delighted to receive an annual donation from SIP Scootershop in Landsberg. This year was no exception: staff from SIP Scootershop came by in person to present area manager Angelica Benz with a cheque for 3,000 euros for the SOS Children’s Village in Ammersee-Lech.
November 2017: SIP Scootershop donates €4,000 to the SOS Children’s Village
That makes a dozen now. For the twelfth year running, the Landsberg-based scooter specialist SIP Scootershop has donated a generous €4,000 to the SOS Children’s Village in Lech-Ammersee. The mail-order shop, founded in 1994, continues to donate one euro from every online order to the boys and girls cared for in Dießen. According to SOS area manager Angelica Benz (second from left), this year’s donation will be used for therapeutic horse riding, which is of enormous help to the children – many of whom are severely traumatised – but is not funded by many youth welfare organisations. Angelica Benz was therefore delighted to receive the cheque, which was presented by (from left) Ana Hachenberger, Harald Geyer and Boris Bannwitz, and returned the favour with guidance through the SOS Children’s Village.
December 2017: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to ARCHE Landsberg
Five employees from SIP Scootershop were invited to visit the residential community and attend the cheque presentation. “As always, we received a warm welcome at ARCHE Landsberg. We spoke with a resident and a carer, who also told us a bit about ARCHE and its history. We were then given a tour of the house and were able to look around the rooms and the small chapel. At around 4.30 pm, the remaining residents arrived from work and the conversations continued over coffee and cake. This was followed by the cheque presentation and a group photo. We were all very impressed by the way the residents and carers live together and are delighted to support this wonderful project with our donation.”
January 2016: SIP Scootershop donates to the Landsberg Hospice Group
Thanks to the proceeds from this year’s Advent event – where customers were offered mulled wine and bratwurst in return for a voluntary donation – SIP Scootershop has now been able to donate €190 to the Landsberg am Lech Hospice Group. SIP Scootershop GmbH supports charitable organisations such as SOS Children’s Villages and ARCHE Landsberg as part of the SIP AID initiative.
August 2016: SIP Scootershop: Eleventh donation to SOS Children’s Villages
Dießen, 29 August 2016 – SIP Scootershop and social commitment go hand in hand: Although the scooter specialist has only recently completed its move to larger premises, this year it is supporting SOS Children’s Villages for the eleventh consecutive year with a donation of 4,000 euros. SOS Area Manager Christoph Rublack (centre) was delighted to receive the cheque, which was presented by (from left) Bettina Thomamüller (Goods Receiving), Maximilian Reiter (Sales), Andreas Rabl (Purchasing) and Lucks Vimol (Dispatch) presented in Dießen. He returned the favour with guidance through the SOS Children’s Village, during which staff from the Landsberg mail-order shop also visited the residential group for unaccompanied refugees cared for by the SOS Children’s Village. The donation will go towards the work of the family midwife, who supports young refugee families.
December 2016: SIP Scootershop donation to ARCHE Landsberg
In keeping with a long-standing tradition, SIP Scootershop’s Christmas donation of €3,000 went to ARCHE in Landsberg again this year. Whilst in previous years SIP staff had visited the community at their premises on Iglingerstraße, this time an invitation was extended to visit the new premises of the SIP Scootershop. After signing the guest book, the scooters on display were probably the biggest hit. Naturally, they were used for souvenir photos, with everyone posing enthusiastically on them. Equipped with new hats, the tour continued through the warehouse, where the guests seemed to enjoy riding along on the forklift trucks through the rows of high-bay racks the most. To round off the visit, the office spaces were viewed and plans were made to meet again soon – at the latest for a pizza dinner at the SIPeria!
July 2015: SIP Scootershop supports a hospital in Cameroon
At the end of 2014, we provided our first support to Dr Gatz, a doctor from Landsberg, for his hospital project in Cameroon. We did so using what we do best: logistics. We packed decommissioned hospital beds, clinical equipment, medical apparatus and much more into a shipping container, cleared it through customs and shipped it to Cameroon. Total cost: €8,000. His project stands out for its initiative, high level of personal commitment, a great deal of passion and, above all, an immediate impact on people’s lives, without the risk of money being misappropriated. The second project in June 2015 was a much-needed new ultrasound machine, which the clinic was able to purchase with a donation of over €3,000 from us. The doctors are now using it, supported by a decent projector, to train their Cameroonian colleagues. The quality and, above all, the suitability for use in tropical conditions of the new ultrasound machine are first-class. It enables the identification of clinical conditions that have been misdiagnosed for years
November 2015: “MiniMax” is delighted with SIP Scootershop
“We’re absolutely delighted,” beamed coordinator Alexandra Brown (right) from the SOS family drop-in centre MiniMax: Thanks to a €4,000 donation from SIP Scootershop, the broken Coffee Machine – the centrepiece of the internationally popular parents’ café with childcare – can finally be replaced. What’s more, there is still enough money left over to buy toys for the popular toddler playgroups. During a visit to Spöttinger Straße 2a in Landsberg, (from left) Martina Haggenmüller, Ronny Berger and Julia Jarczok from SIP Scootershop were very impressed by the open-plan layout of the SOS Family and Counselling Centre, where, amongst other things, free German language courses are offered. The SOS family centre MiniMax has grown from humble beginnings, just like the scooter specialist SIP Scootershop. The Landsberg-based mail-order shop has been supporting the SOS Children’s Village Ammersee-Lech for ten years now.
December 2015: Donation to ARCHE Landsberg
As part of the SIP AID campaign, SIP Scootershop once again made a donation to ARCHE Landsberg. It has become something of a tradition for the Landsberg-based company to visit ARCHE at the end of the year and present a cheque. The SIP Scootershop staff were given a very warm welcome by the care assistants at the community centre, where they were first treated to homemade cake and savoury pretzels. An informative discussion took place about the lives and daily routines of the residents, followed by guidance through the centre. Meanwhile, the residents returned home from work and the large living room began to fill up. They were delighted to see the team from the Landsberg scooter accessories retailer and were thrilled to receive the cheque for €3,000. The donation will be put to good use for the upcoming renovation of the communal area. It was a successful afternoon, with excellent refreshments, interesting insights and the feeling of having brought joy to someone in the run-up to Christmas.
January 2014: SIP Scootershop supports Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.
One of Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.’s projects is the reconstruction of a hospital and its development into a centre of excellence in Ndoungue, Cameroon. The project manager is Dr Soeren Gatz, a former senior consultant at Landsberg am Lech Hospital. On the ground, the project is led by Dr François Marie Djomou Touomo, who visited Germany in mid-January and provided in-depth insights into the situation in Ndoungue. SIP Scootershop has supported Humanitäre Hilfe e.V. not only with financial resources (approx. €5,500) but also with manpower and logistical organisation. The task was to ship urgently needed supplies to Cameroon. These included decommissioned hospital beds, mattresses, surgical equipment, clothing for doctors and patients, medical devices and much more. No sooner said than done! On Friday 17 January 2014, the container was loaded with the help of a SIP delegation and set off on its journey to West Africa.
In the photo, from left: Andreas Rabl (SIP), Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Barth (Managing Director, SIP), Dr François Marie Djomou Touomo, Dr Soeren Gatz, Max Sollich (SIP), Stephan Fischer (SIP), on a scooter: Sepp and Els Mergler
July 2014: SIP Scootershop donates €4,000 to SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Regional Manager Christoph Rublack (centre) was delighted, and there are already a number of urgent measures that can now be tackled thanks to the donation. During a visit to Dießen, he described life at the SOS Children’s Village to the SIP Scootershop staff (from left) Stefanie Schönauer, Gudrun Pfundmayr, Uwe Kabrhel and Robert Kerner, and answered the numerous questions posed by the very interested visitors.
September 2014: SIP Scootershop supports Die Arche Landsberg
We’ve been nominated, and we’re happy to take part in the Ice Bucket or Cold Water Challenge. As part of the campaign, we’re donating €500 to Die Arche in Landsberg. Enjoy the video of the campaign, and we hope the staff and people with disabilities at Die Arche enjoy our donation!
December 2014: SIP Scootershop supports ‘Die Arche’ in Landsberg
Once again this year, a small delegation from the SIP Scootershop team visited the facility in Landsberg and was able to lend the organisation a little support with a donation of €3,000. The SIP team were treated to coffee, delicious cake, a tour of the premises including background information, and a sensational flute performance by Sebastian Zimmek (front). From left to right: Christoph Gewinner, Marie-Christine, Rebecca Arndt, Tina Ossenberg, Stephan Fischer, Moritz Kohrs, Sebastian Zimmek, Stefan Buchner, Christian Gustafsson, Antigona Casagrande, Felix Scholz, Sissy Kratzer, Christian Seidl, Yokiku. The funds raised will be used to set up a leisure room where residents can do crafts and make music. The residents and their carers can also look forward to an invitation to next year’s SIP Scootershop Open Day on 9 May 2015, to which they are most warmly invited.
June 2013: SIP Scootershop funds a trip to Finland for SOS Children’s Villages
There is great joy at the SOS Children’s Village: with a generous donation of 4,000 euros, SIP Scootershop is funding a two-week trip to Finland for the boys and girls to visit the SOS Children’s Villages there. There, the children from Dießen will be reunited with peers who stopped off at the Haus Mosaik last year on their way to the SOS holiday village in Caldonazzo on Lake Ammersee. SOS Area Manager Christoph Rublack (third from the left) was delighted with the donation, which will also fund further leisure activities, but above all with the long-standing loyalty of SIP Scootershop. The Landsberg-based company, which now employs 70 people, has had close ties with the SOS Children’s Village since 2005. On this occasion, (from left) Oliver Jewellery, Jarly Surivong, Hansjörg Dahmen, Ernst Gareis and Stefan Bressel visited the facility in Dießen and, during guidance through the village, showed great interest in the everyday lives of the boys and girls.
December 2013: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to ARCHE
Once again this year, the Landsberg-based scooter accessories specialist SIP Scootershop GmbH donated €3,000.00 to ARCHE Landsberg. To mark the occasion, a four-person delegation from the Landsberg-based company visited the residential community for people with disabilities in Landsberg on 17 December to tour the premises and present the cheque. Here is a brief report: “When we arrived at ARCHE Landsberg in the late afternoon and were warmly welcomed, a beautifully laid table with coffee and cake was already waiting for us. We had a lovely chat with the carers and residents and were given some information about the home and the history of ARCHE. After the meal, the residents played some pieces they’d practised on their musical instruments and sang an Indian song for us. This was followed by a short tour, during which the residents showed us round the whole house and showed us their rooms. We were impressed by the ARCHE’s concept, the dedication of the staff – some of whom are volunteers – and the wonderful residents.”
SIP Scootershop: a loyal supporter for seven years
The most loyal regional supporters of the SOS Children’s Village come from Landsberg: since 2005, the local SIP Scootershop has been donating one euro to the SOS Children’s Village in Dießen with every online order. A total of 35,700 euros has been raised in this way. During their most recent visit to the SOS Children’s Village, (from left) Sylvia Legath, Antonio Bruno, Stefanie Barth and Manuela Jurack, accompanied by Leonie, presented a generous donation of 4,000 euros, much to the delight of SOS Area Manager Christoph Rublack.
October 2012: SIP Scootershop donates €3,000 to ARCHE
This year, as in the previous year, SIP Scootershop donated €3,000.00 to ARCHE Landsberg. Having received such a warm welcome there last year, a number of members of our team were once again able to visit the residents of ARCHE this year. In the afternoon, we sat together over coffee and cake, where we learnt more about ARCHE Landsberg, upcoming projects and, of course, the individual residents and carers. After our discussions, we took a tour of the garden, which was newly laid out this year, and the new cycle racks, the construction of which was made possible by our donation last year.
Standing, from left: Tobias Hümmler (SIP), Mario Rill (SIP), Julia Reif (SIP), Julia Voggenreiter, Markus Dietl (Director of Die ARCHE)
; Seated, from left: Alfred Bartel, Sebastian Bauch (SIP), Felix Scholz, Stefan Buchner, Sebastian Zimmek
March 2011: SIP Scootershop donates to earthquake victims in Japan
SIP Scootershop donates €500 to the victims of the earthquake in Japan The events following the terrible earthquake and tsunami, as well as the accident at the nuclear power station in Japan, are truly staggering. It is difficult to imagine the worries and problems faced by the people there. We at SIP Scootershop have donated €500 to help those who have often lost everything. We have also set up the Facebook group‘Scooterists support Japan after Earthquake’to show Japanese scooter riders and the entire population that our thoughts are with them.
August 2011: Donation and raffle at the summer party at the SOS Children’s Village
Dießen. The boys and girls (back row, from left) welcomed Benny Gerum, Joscha Blank and Pierre Pahr from SIP Scootershop in Landsberg with a big round of applause at their summer party at the SOS Children’s Village. The “long-standing and loyal supporters” (SOS Area Manager Christoph Rublack, back right) presented a cheque for 4,000 euros, which will be used for the construction of the new Mosaik House (in the background). For their part, the children used the summer party as an opportunity to raise awareness for their peers currently facing great hardship in Somalia: On the initiative of Ute Starck’s SOS Children’s Village family, each family collected games, jigsaw puzzles, cassettes, as well as vases and books, which served as prizes in a raffle with almost 300 tickets in aid of SOS Children’s Villages in Africa. SIP Scootershop has been supporting SOS Children’s Villages for years with regular donations.
November 2011: SIP Scootershop supports the Arche Landsberg
Once again this year, SIP Scootershop was able to lend a helping hand to Die Arche Landsberg with a donation of €3,000. A small delegation from SIP was warmly welcomed by the residents of ‘Die Arche’. As well as a tour of the premises with lots of background information, they were treated to homemade cake and coffee. This was followed by a short performance by Stefan (seated, second from the left) on his tuba.
Most of the donation is to be used for the redesign of the garden, including covered cycle parking spaces and a barbecue area. In addition, the stairwell is still in need of renovation. Perhaps the SIP students will be invited to the next barbecue to celebrate a little with the residents in the newly landscaped garden…
January 2010: SIP Scootershop donates to earthquake relief in Haiti
SIP Scootershop is donating €500 to Caritas International for earthquake relief in Haiti. Caritas is providing on-the-ground assistance with food, large tents, plastic sheeting and blankets, water canisters and chlorine tablets. Alexander Barth, Managing Director of SIP Scootershop: “The people of Haiti have been hit with full force by one of the greatest natural disasters in recent history. We didn’t need yesterday’s aftershock to realise the unimaginable suffering that this disaster has brought upon the country and its people. SIP Scootershop is mindful of its social responsibility and, as part of the SIP Aid initiative, is making an immediate donation to Caritas International, also on behalf of all its staff and customers.”
August 2010: SIP Scootershop attends the summer party at the SOS Children’s Village
Dießen. Guests at the – unfortunately rain-soaked – summer festival at the SOS Children’s Village Ammersee were (from left) Nesli Camsari, Martin Silberhorn, Andrea Schulz and (on the right) Benny Gerum from SIP Scootershop in Landsberg. Together with some of the families, they enjoyed a performance by the children’s band ‘Karacho’ and the farewell ceremony for a number of school leavers. The staff from the online retailer specialising in scooter Replacement Parts did not come empty-handed: they presented a cheque for 2,700 euros, which will help fulfil the long-cherished wish for self-built huts and a boathouse. According to SOS regional manager Christoph Rublack (second from the right), SIP Scootershop is one of the most loyal supporters in the region and donates to the SOS Children’s Village with every online order.
December 2009: Scootershop is a loyal supporter of the SOS Children’s Village
Dießen. The SOS Children’s Village Ammersee has found a loyal and committed sponsor in Landsberg-based SIP Scootershop: For the fifth year running, the young mail-order business specialising in scooter Replacement Parts has decided to provide financial support to the boys and girls – with a donation of 5,000 euros. The company, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, was founded in the garage of Walter Barth (left), the father of one of the two managing directors. Together with (from the right) Mario Ott (mail order), Christian Seidl with his daughter Lena (dealer support, event organisation and call centre) and Otto Wermescher (goods reception), he presented a cheque to SOS area manager Christoph Rublack. The visitors took a keen interest as they were shown around the village, also seeing the ‘Sonnenhaus’, for whose renovation the donation will be used.
(Press release from the SOS Children’s Village “Ammersee” dated 11 December 2009)
May 2008: Football shirts for the SOS Children’s Village in Dießen
Landsberg. The scooter mail-order specialist SIP Scootershop has been supporting SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. for several years as part of its SIP AID initiative. In recent weeks, the Landsberg-based company has provided the Dießen SOS Children’s Village with new football shirts. This came just in time for the 11th National Children’s Village Cup in Irschenberg. The eight- to 14-year-olds from the SOS Children’s Village Ammersee-Lech took part in football and streetball tournaments (finishing 7th and 8th) and also achieved a good result in the Fair Play Cup. Just as they had done in training, the Dießen participants prioritised fair play here too: for instance, when choosing sides, the children presented pennants they had designed themselves and greeted and bid farewell to their opponents with a handshake – even when it was sometimes difficult to do so. In the football tournament, they finished in 7th place following a highly dramatic penalty shoot-out final, in which Amon saved all of the opponents’ penalties. In the streetball final against the same opponents – a children’s home in Berlin – the Dießen team came 8th. And in the table football tournament, they finished in 5th place.
December 2008: A young mail-order business with a strong social conscience
SIP Scootershop in Landsberg is a young company with a strong social conscience. For the past four years, the mail-order shop specialising in scooter spare parts has been donating one euro per online order to the SOS Children’s Village in Dießen. SOS Area Manager Christoph Rublack said he was “absolutely delighted” with the initiative, which this year once again raised 5,000 euros for the SOS Children’s Village. In addition, the shop had donated football shirts in the summer to the young athletes who had successfully taken part in the German Children’s Village Cup. Tina Ossenberg (goods-in), Kathi Struwe (purchasing), Margarete Müller, Katharina Weigand (both dispatch), Britta Herfort (customer service/from left) and little Juli presented Rublack with the cheque and, in return, were given guidance about the SOS Children’s Village and lots of information about it.
(Press release from the SOS Children’s Village “Ammersee” dated 10 December 2008)
July 2007: SOS Children’s Village in Dießen is delighted to have received 5,000 euros
June 2006: Scooter riders bring warmth to the family home
Another €5,000 donation from SIP Scootershop to SOS Children’s Village
Dießen. Since last year, the Landsberg-based online retailer SIP Scootershop has been donating one euro to the ‘Ammersee’ SOS Children’s Village in Dießen for every online order of Vespa Replacement Parts. A sum of €5,000 was already handed over to the children’s village last September, and this impressive sum has now been presented for the second time at the company’s premises.
Furthermore, the owners of SIP Scootershop, Ralf Jodl and Alexander Barth, confirmed that this commitment will continue indefinitely. “We are in the fortunate position of being in secure circumstances – we are doing well,” explained the two owners, “and we would like to share this with others who are struggling more.”
Christoph Rublack, Head of the Dießen SOS Children’s Village, could scarcely believe his good fortune: “We are very grateful to SIP Scootershop for its tremendous commitment,” he said at the cheque presentation, explaining what the money would be used for this time: the SOS Children’s Village is currently renovating a family house to create a modern home for another children’s village family. The first donation had already gone towards the extension; the sum presented now is to be used to finance a fireplace and the accompanying wood-burning stove in the new annexe. “The children’s village family,” reports Rublack, “wishes to tackle rising energy costs by using wood as a cost-effective and renewable fuel.” Furthermore, a wood-burning stove radiates the warmth and cosiness that both children and adults often appreciate so much.
For further information on the SOS Children’s Village: www.sos-kd-ammersee.de
(Press release from the Landsberger Tagblatt dated 20 June 2006)
July 2006: SIP Scootershop and GRAVIS present an ‘Apple Mac Mini’
Computer retailer GRAVIS, in collaboration with SIP Scootershop, has presented an “Apple Mac Mini” computer, worth around €800, to the village mother at the SOS Children’s Village in Dießen. This means that duty rosters, daily reports and so on can now be produced using a computer system, without the risk of viruses, worms or annoying system crashes.
September 2005: SIP Scootershop presents a €5,000 donation
Landsberg-based online company supports the SOS Children’s Village in Dießen Dießen. Since spring 2005, SIP Scootershop, the Landsberg-based mail-order company specialising in Vespa and scooter spare parts, has donated one euro to SOS Children’s Villages with every online order. The Dießen-based SOS Children’s Village ‘Ammersee’ has now received the substantial sum of €5,000.
The company has been supporting social projects for years – and has now decided to support the SOS Children’s Villages. The reason for this, according to the two owners, Ralf Jodl and Alexander Barth, is that the SOS Children’s Villages also look after many young people, as young people make up a significant proportion of the Scootershop’s customer base. Furthermore, as Jodl explained at the handover of the donation, SOS Children’s Villages is a social organisation operating worldwide – and the company now receives many orders for spare parts from abroad.
“We are in the fortunate position of being in secure circumstances – we are doing well,” the two owners went on to explain, “and we would like to share this with others who are struggling more.” The sum, according to division manager Christoph Rublack of SOS Children’s Villages, will go towards the forthcoming extension of a family house: “We can only shoulder this substantial investment with the help of individuals and companies who support us financially.” In the refurbished family home, which is due to be completed by mid-2006, six children who cannot live with their biological parents will live together as a family with an SOS Children’s Villages mother. Rublack warmly thanked the donors for their commitment, and they went one step further: there are plans to continue the campaign on a permanent basis. SIP Scootershop has also highlighted SOS Children’s Villages on its website.
(Press release from the SOS Children’s Village “Ammersee” dated 20 September 2005)
December 2004: Tsunami in Asia
We made a spontaneous donation to the German Red Cross to help the victims of the tsunami in Asia, as the organisation was able to deploy a large team to the area quickly and is setting up long-term aid.
(Landsberger Tagblatt, 4 January 2005) “SIP Scootershop in Landsberg donated 500 euros to the German Red Cross to support its work in the wake of the flood disaster in South Asia. In addition, there is a call for donations to all customers on the SIP Scootershop website”
(The fundraising campaign on the website has now ended!)
September 2002: Flood disaster on the River Elbe
We collected donations from our customers for the victims of the once-in-a-century floods in eastern Germany. We matched every euro donated. The donations went to Landsberg’s twin town, Waldheim.
(Landsberger Tagblatt, 16 September 2002)“SIP Scootershop asked customers who had placed orders to make donations for the flood victims. The staff also added to the total, as Ralf Jodl told the LT, bringing the total donation to 527.35 euros. SIP Scootershop forwarded this sum to the trade association of its twin town, Waldheim.”
Why SOS Children’s Villages Germany?
The name SOS Children’s Villages conveys the message that here, girls and boys who cannot grow up in their own family home can find a new home. The children live there with their village mum and siblings in one house – permanently and round the clock. They play, laugh, argue and celebrate just like in a real family. This is absolutely vital for the children, who often arrive at an SOS Children’s Village having gone through painful experiences. Here, they find people with whom they can build lasting trust and who are reliably there for them. www.sos-kinderdorf.de
Why Arche Germany?
There are Arche communities in many countries around the world. The aim of the Arche is to create communities that welcome people with intellectual disabilities. People without disabilities and those with intellectual disabilities live together in one house and organise their daily lives together. Every member of the household has their own room. Meals are prepared and eaten together, and household chores are also carried out as a group. There has been an Ark house in Landsberg with 12 residents since 2001. www.arche-deutschland.de
Why HUMEDICA?
HUMEDICA is an international non-governmental organisation which, since its foundation in 1979, has provided humanitarian aid in over 90 countries. The aim of HUMEDICA’s work is to help people who are in need as a result of disasters or structural poverty. www.humedica.org
Why Mary’s Meals?
Every school day,Mary’s Meals provides hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest children with a hot meal. Food and education enable these children to break free from the cycle of misery and poverty. Founded in 1992, the charity’s vision is for every child to receive a daily meal at school. Mary’s Meals currently feeds around 1.3 million children in Africa. www.marysmeals.de
Why Humanitäre Hilfe e.V.?
For 34 years, Dr Soeren Gatz was a senior consultant at Landsberg Hospital. Ten years ago, the 72-year-old took early retirement to fulfil a dream he had harboured ever since he was a medical student: to bring medical aid to people in the developing world. He is a founding member of the association ‘Humanitäre Hilfe e. V. Landsberg, Partner für Gesundheit und Bildung’. The organisation was founded in 2005 by doctors and nursing staff at the hospital in Landsberg am Lech and now has around 100 members, many of whom sacrifice their annual leave or special leave to help those in need. Dr Soeren Gatz has been the organisation’s first chair since 2019. In collaboration with local NGOs and the Evangelical Church (EEC), the association supports eight hospitals and several schools in Cameroon. The NGOs Bon Secours and World Mercy Fund (WMF) took charge of the logistics, and together they have delivered over 100 beds and all manner of medical equipment to this civil war-torn country on the west coast of Africa since 2015. The German Federal Government and sponsors from industry also support the projects. The training and further education of local staff play a major role, and Dr Gatz can still hear the words of a doctor from Cameroon ringing in his ears: “You didn’t bring us fish, but taught us how to fish.” http://www.humanitaere-hilfe-ev.de
Why Médecins Sans Frontières?
On 24 March 2022, the Russian army invaded Ukraine. The images reaching us from there are harrowing. We are in contact with customers from Kyiv and the Vespa Club of Ukraine. We want to help. We have chosen ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’; the organisation is already on the ground throughout the country, as well as on the Ukrainian-Polish border where hundreds of thousands of refugees are arriving. Civilians urgently need protection and relief supplies must be delivered – the priority must be to care for the injured.
Through SIP Aid, we are supporting Médecins Sans Frontières as a partner organisation. Further information is available here: https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de
