At ProCent, around 77,000 Mercedes-Benz employees donate the cents of their net salary to a good cause every month.

12,3 millionen euros for good causes

ProCent projects at a glance.

April 28, 2023 – Every month, around 77,000 Mercedes-Benz employees donate the cents of their net salary to a good cause. The company is doubling the sum. Since 2011, more than 12.3 million euros have been donated to more than 1,800 charitable projects. In 2022, it was a total of around 740,000 euros.

"ProCent" involvement in practice

The proposals for aid projects come from the Mercedes-Benz employees. After checking for feasibility, a group of decision-makers made up of equal numbers of works council and company confirms the subsidies. Half of the funds go to regional, charitable projects at the plant sites and the other half to overarching, charitable projects in Germany and abroad, for example in environmental, animal and nature conservation, or benefit children, young people and people with disabilities.

Below is a selection of projects from previous years:

2022

With the purchase of a professional gastro espresso machine, Mercedes-Benz is supporting the regional 46PLUS espresso mobile in Stuttgart and the surrounding area. The espresso mobile is run by young baristas with Down syndrome who have prepared themselves well for their new part-time job. In the future, it will be used to go to weekly or annual markets, club festivals or company celebrations. Behind this is the association 46PLUS Down-Syndrom Stuttgart e.V ., which is committed to the interests of people with Down syndrome and their parents and relatives.

In Northern Germany, ProCent supports the Förderverein Pädagogik bei krankheit Hamburg e.V . Here, age-appropriate bicycles for children and adolescents were purchased, with which they can go on excursions during their stay in the clinic.

As part of the DRK-Kreisverband Tübingen e.V., the local association Kirchentellinsfurt-Kusterdingen of the German Red Cross (DRK)  is involved in many projects on a voluntary basis, including disaster and civil protection. ProCent supports the local association in the purchase of a drone for the rapid deployment group, which is mainly used regionally in the district of Tübingen and neighboring districts.

The municipality of Bondorf in the district of Böblingen opened the forest kindergarten "Waldfüchse Bondorf" in 2022. ProCent supports the project "Healthy Nutrition - from Sowing and Planting to the Finished Dish" project to teach children about sustainable and healthy nutrition.

Achilles International Germany  enables people with disabilities to participate in running events in order to promote personal performance. ProCent supports the purchase of running shirts and running pants in the project.

2021

The Björn Schulz Foundation  accompanies seriously ill children, adolescents and young adults with their families. To this end, the foundation operates, among other things, the inpatient hospice Sonnenhof in Berlin. An exercise pool in the Sonnenhof offers families with their children the opportunity for therapeutic swimming in a protected space. The necessary renovation of the therapy bath is supported by ProCent.

The German Life Saving Society (DLRG)  has set itself the task of saving people from drowning. Thousands of members ensure the safety of bathers and water sports enthusiasts on beaches, in baths or at lakes. The Daimler ProCent initiative supported the DLRG local group Stade in the procurement of survival suits. The suits are waterproof and protect the rescuers even during operations with floods and high waves in ice-cold water.

The Kimbondo association  helps children and young people in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the Kimbondo Centre, disabled children are cared for and sick children are treated in a clinic. In 2015, ProCent was able to purchase a water treatment plant for the center. So that the water no longer has to be transported in buckets to the houses, water pipes are now to be laid. ProCent also supports this project.

The "Angels Home for Children"  offers parentless and needy girls between the ages of 5 and 18 a loving and caring upbringing and thus the long-term chance of a secure future with career prospects. Mercedes-Benz supports the children's home in Sri Lanka with a minibus that reliably takes the girls to school every day.

Previous Projects

In the rural and secluded mountain region of Mugu, the non-profit association Asha21  has built a third children's home. The three children's homes are home to more than 60 protégés, mostly orphans, former slaves or street children. In addition to hot food, the children also receive a free education, which gives them a chance for a better life. ProCent is contributing 30,000 euros to the construction of the new children's home as well as the furnishing of furniture and the purchase of a new kitchen.

Mercedes-Benz ProCent is supporting the association "Joint Aid Management Deutschland e.V."  in the renovation of a kindergarten in the township Villa Liza in Boksburg near Johannesburg. Within a few weeks, the "Ulundi" daycare center got several group rooms, child-friendly sanitary facilities, a kitchen and a terrace with a shady area. In just five days, all rooms inside and out were painted with powerful colors and furnished in a child-friendly way. The kindergarten is also equipped with educational toys and all rooms have solar lamps. In addition, the house was connected to the water network.

For the welfare of wolves, lynxes and bears, the FOUNDATION for BEARS  is strong. The following applies to wild animals: Only freedom is species-appropriate! Therefore, the animal welfare organization is committed to the preservation of habitats in the wild - and to stop breeding in captivity. ProCent supports the foundation with a donation of 7,500 euros.

The Bremen Child and Youth Welfare  Foundation is committed to helping children and young people from difficult family backgrounds. Thanks to the support of ProCent, the range of leisure activities could be expanded.

The orphanage "Springs of Hope Children's Home"  offers Kenyan orphans a new home. ProCent supported the project with funds for the construction of a water tower and a solar panel.

Integra Mittelbaden is committed to the employment of disabled people and offers jobs and qualification measures. ProCent encouraged the purchase of new work equipment.