Flood: Eifeler organize donation of 11,000 new shoes for flood victims

JünkerathSpecial flood aid: Jünkerather Jörg Brang and Guido Geilenkirchen, together with Herbert Ehlen, are putting together a great campaign.

The floods in July did terrible things. In the Eifel, on the Ahr, in the Erft Valley and other regions. But hardly anyone would have expected what followed: impressive solidarity among the citizens, thousands of helpers, fundraising campaigns and other initiatives that helped the injured and made life in the mess a little easier.

Today we report on another such idea. Behind them are two men from the Upper Kylltal: Jörg Brang and Guido Geilenkirchen from Jünkerath. Both are in the sporting goods store. Geilenkirchen as European head at Saucony, one of the largest running shoe manufacturers in the world - and also sponsor of Samuel Fitwi, the top cross-country skier from Stadtkyll.

Brang's employer, Altra, also produces and sells running shoes. Altra is part of VF Corporation, one of the world's largest clothing groups, which owns well-known brands such as The North Face, Timberland, Eastpak, Vans and Dickies.

What did the two Eifelers do? They used their companies and in the end managed to get around 5,500 pairs of new sports shoes and other shoes, mainly to the Ahr Valley, where many people gratefully accepted them.

"The whole campaign," says Jörg Brang, arose from a thought of his daughter: she found that the willingness to donate in the country was great. But occasionally the impression was created "that many people confuse the calls with bulky waste and used clothing collections".

So Brang and Geilenkirchen (whom we couldn't speak for this article because we're on vacation) thought to themselves: People need something new. And they need shoes, first of all. Especially on the Ahr, says Brang, "many people have simply lost everything". Or in the Schleiden valley and other regions.

Everywhere, however, basements and ground floors were full. "You're more likely to have normal clothes on the first floor," says Brang. “But shoes are almost always on the ground floor. As a result, after the water came, many walked around with the last pair of feet they had on.”

The two initiators used their companies - and soon 5,500 pairs of shoes were ready to go. "They arrived here in Jünkerath with a trailer truck, on 50 pallets."

Geilenkirchen's father Raimund, former head of the Jünkerather Graf Salentin school, used his old connections so that the entire load could initially be stored there. With more than ten helpers, they cleared everything there.

And then it started: Herbert Ehlen, a former teacher in Jünkerath and founder of the Fair-Play bike tour, knows a lot of people anyway, and he also contacted his acquaintances, not least in the Ahr Valley: Because, says Brang, “knew exactly: Who has it on most necessary?"

That was the best solution, because it was also important that not everyone who might have come through the catastrophe with dry feet should use it. That, says Brang, could largely be prevented: "Herbert Ehlen simply has relationships in all directions, that was great."

And then Ehlen packed the van and drove five loads of branded goods to the Ahr Valley – to Schuld, to Insul, to Dernau, to Altenahr and to Mayschoß. There were tables everywhere ready to place the shoes on. And so they were brought among the people. "5000 pairs, you can't distribute them individually."

And no, it wasn't just sports shoes, "but also everyday shoes. Of course, it all went down really well with the people,” says Jörg Brang. Just like the deployment of ten colleagues from Timberland in Munich: They drove up to Schleiden to help there for a week.

Oh, and there are still about 1,000 pairs of shoes to come. From England. "But they," says Jörg Brang, "are still stuck in customs due to Brexit."