PRAGUE, Czech Republic, February 22, 2022 – When temperatures are below freezing, help is needed quickly. Austria’s online food delivery service Gurkerl.at quickly responded with a volunteer aid project providing homeless people with warmth quickly and easily during the winter. Gurkerl.at customers packed sleeping bags, mats and blankets into their shopping bags during the period of 17.01. to 19.02.2022, handing them over to couriers. Gurkerl.at then passed on this charitable aid at regular intervals to Caritas Austria, ensuring this protection against cold was delivered as quickly as possible to those in need. The response of Gurkerl.at customers was overwhelming, with more than 350 donations in kind being collected. Among the items are 224 blankets, 35 sleeping bags and 16 sleeping mats. In addition, warm clothing, bedding sets, bath towels and shoes were among the generous donations.
“Cosy warmth in winter is, unfortunately, a true luxury for the many people in Austria living on the streets despite freezing temperatures. In order to help these people fight the cold, we have been working together with Caritas Austria. For our customers it was a quick, uncomplicated way to assist with donating warmth to homeless people,” explains Maurice Beurskens, Gurkerl.at CEO, adding: “With this project, we used our existing infrastructure and our broad network of customers to help people who don't have a warm home. I already knew before the project started that we have great customers. However, I am surprised at how much interest there has been in our project and how much everyone has been willing to help - it's fantastic!” Judith Hartweger, Head of the Caritas establishment “Gruft” adds: “The cold season is especially dangerous for homeless people. Thanks to the many committed Gurkerl.at customers, we are able to provide people who sleep outside with warm blankets and sleeping bags. We thank them very much for that.”
Gurkerl.at customers donated the gift of warmth without effort, cost or travel time
Gurkerl.at used its infrastructure and relied on the helpfulness of its customers to execute this aid project. Customers simply took their washed sleeping bags, sleeping mats, wool or fleece blankets and placed them into an empty Gurkerl shopping bag from their last order. Gurkerl.at couriers took this donation in kind from them when delivering their next purchase. All such donations were collected by Gurkerl.at and handed over to Caritas at regular intervals during the one-month duration of the aid project.
Let’s help together
Rohlik Group plans to expand this activity across other markets and is currently looking for suitable partners in all countries. Eliška Čeřovská, Group Head of PR commented: “This form of assistance is sustainable, repeatable and scalable and need not take place only during winter. We can collect seasonal items from customers that will be needed at a given time of year or even consider certain types of donations in kind for specific people at risk or in need. If we can start working with and or / supporting your organisation, please do not hesitate to contact us. We already for example have a strong lead in Hungary with discussions underway in all countries.”
About Gurkerl.at
Gurkerl.at is the most innovative online supermarket in Vienna and its surrounds. Founded in December 2020, its office, as well as its fulfillment center, are located under one roof in the south of Vienna. In December 2021, around 4.000 deliveries were being made per day. With an assortment of more than 10.000 articles, Gurkerl.at offers high-quality international, domestic and local brands and groceries as well as essential goods, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, pet supplies and everything for your baby. Exclusively in Austria, Gurkerl.at offers the Marks & Spencer product range and the company’s Alnatura assortment is the biggest one that is available online in Austria. The whole assortment is, including our own excellent quality private labels, growing steadily with Gurkerl.at customers actively communicating their requests for new products.
About Rohlik Group
Founded in 2014 in the Czech Republic, Rohlik Group is one of Europe's leading online grocery delivery services. Already active in the Czech Republic (Rohlik.cz), Hungary (Kifli.hu), Austria (Gurkerl.at) and Germany (Knuspr.de) it is launching in Romania, Italy and Spain in 2022 under the Sezamo brand for these three countries. Deploying world-leading technology & logistics to deliver a huge range of quality products (17 000 SKUs+), it can offer a 15-minute delivery window with delivery as soon as within 90 minutes of placing an order in some countries. As a tech company, it is data-driven in everything it does. By owning its end-to-end operations, including having all technology in-house, customers are provided with a superior shopping experience including delivery of the freshest food from local farmers and artisans, as well as a broad supermarket selection and its own private label brands. The company is dynamic and growing rapidly, attaining unicorn status. Group turnover exceeded €300 million in 2020.
For career enquiries visit career.rohlik.group
For press enquiries, contact Eliška Čeřovská at [email protected]