STELP: Since when have you been a partner of STELP with BERGER GROUP and how did you become aware of STELP back then?
Carsten Gries: I got to know STELP shortly after the Ukraine war began. I learned on social media that STELP set up an aid warehouse in Lviv immediately after the war began. I spoke to Serkan on the phone and we, the BERGER GROUP, immediately helped by supplying shelving and forklift trucks, among other things. After that we organized some relief supplies to Lviv via our warehouse in Korntal-Münchingen. A little later, we also became a STELP partner. Our subsidiary Lagertechnik BECKER GmbH is now also a STELP partner.
STELP: You have acquired an incredible number of new partners for STELP over the past year. Where does this great intrinsic motivation to get involved with STELP come from?
Carsten Gries: Supporting a charity is based on trust and we see that 100% of STELP’s relief supplies really do reach those in need. Unlike other NGOs, STELP separates funding for organizational costs from donations. The partners finance the organizational costs so that 100% of the donations reach the relief projects and thus create the greatest possible impact. This creates the greatest possible transparency and trust. This is the reason and the basis why I also convince other people to become STELP partners.
STELP: What was your most memorable moment and how do you look back on the year as a partner overall?
Carsten Gries: The most defining moment, as already described, was the first contact with STELP at the beginning of the Ukraine war. What was special for me even in the first phone calls was the power and passion of STELP to help people in need very quickly and directly. The entire STELP team lives this helpfulness and also great appreciation for each other. I look back on the year 2022 with ambivalence. On the one hand, the suffering and distress of so many people makes me very sad. On the other hand, I am very grateful that we are allowed to be part of STELP and that we have been able to help so many people in need very quickly, directly and sustainably with the STELP team.
STELP: In a nutshell – what does STELP stand for you personally?
Carsten Gries: Humanity, helpfulness, appreciation and team. WE ARE ALL STELP!
