As loyal as Totti: OeTTINGER employee Thomas Bekkers will soon celebrate nearly 50 years at SV Mönchengladbach 1910 e.V.

As loyal as Totti: OeTTINGER employee Thomas Bekkers will soon celebrate nearly 50 years at SV Mönchengladbach 1910 e.V.

  • Engagement
  • 2. April 2019

What do OeTTINGER employee Thomas Bekkers and footballing legends such as Francesco Totti, Sir Alex Ferguson and Lionel Messi all have in common? The answer: They all remained at a single football club for their entire career. For Thomas Bekkers, it has only ever been SV Mönchengladbach 1910, based in the Lürrip district of Mönchengladbach, North Rhein-Westphalia. He has been part of the club since 1970, working as a youth coach for around 25 years and a goalkeeper coach for 15 years. “Sport brings people together, it is character-building and aids integration. That’s why I also have lots of fun working with children and young people. Seeing them train together, grow as people and develop lasting friendships is simply wonderful”, Bekkers explains.

Integrating refugee children and children from disadvantaged families are above all causes very close to the club’s heart. In order to purchase training equipment such as balls, kits and boots for families who cannot afford to buy the necessary equipment for their children, the club is reliant on donations. The club was delighted to receive a donation of EUR 1,250 from OeTTINGER Brewery Mönchengladbach – raised via the company’s charitable employee development scheme – and can now set about purchasing important equipment. Bekkers, who has worked in the bottling department at the Mönchengladbach site since 1992, was similarly delighted: “The brewery had also previously donated an entire set of kits. This inspired some of our young people to apply for an internship at OeTTINGER Brewery to gain an insight into the company’s production and workshop processes”.

Another organization also has cause for celebration thanks to donations in recognition of the voluntary work carried out by OeTTINGER employees: Sven Theierkauf received EUR 1,250 to buy a new tchoukball set for the “Sport for Men” group at TV Schiefbahn 1899 e.V in Willich.

About the OeTTINGER personnel development program.

More projects supported through this program.

Young people from SV Mönchengladbach 1910 e.V. visit OeTTINGER Brewery.

Battling it out to score at SV Mönchengladbach 1910 e.V.

The two recipients of the most recent quarterly employee volunteer donations at OeTTINGER Brewery’s Mönchengladbach site: Sven Theuerkauf (left) with Jürgen Brunacker (site manager, center) and Thomas Bekkers (right).

New tchoukball equipment for “Sport for Men” at TV Schiefbahn 1899 e.V.