Since 1987, the tennis club in Altenstadt, Alsace, has been offering a wide range of sporting activities for young people and adults. Today, the club has a total of 136 members – six of whom play in the “Tennis for disabled people” section. They train regularly at the club, where they are supervised by volunteer members of the tennis club, and take part in club festivals and competitions as well as tournaments in the surrounding area. In order to cover the costs of the “Tennis for disabled people” section for the coming year, the tennis club was supported with a donation from Zschimmer & Schwarz. René Hauer, employee at Zschimmer & Schwarz Interpolymer, which is based in nearby Wissembourg, suggested the project for funding during the chemical company's donation campaign. 

"Thanks to the donation, new equipment for this season could be purchased. In addition, the athletes were able to take part in a tournament for disabled players in May, which took place as part of the Internationaux de Strasbourg – a major women's tennis tournament in Strasbourg. All the costs for this were covered by the donation," explains René Hauer, who submitted the project. “The club is very happy about the financial support and that the “Tennis for disabled people” section can be continued as a result.” 

The donation campaign of Zschimmer & Schwarz was initiated by the shareholder families and is now an integral part of the company's social commitment. It takes place every two years and entered its third round in 2024. All employees have the opportunity to suggest local initiatives to be supported by the company with a donation.

The Altenstadt tennis club is one of 39 projects across Europe, North and South America as well as Asia supported by Zschimmer & Schwarz as part of the donation campaign with a total sum of around 350,000 euros. “For more than 130 years, our family company Zschimmer & Schwarz has consistently laid the focus of our activities on our fellow human beings. With this philosophy, we aim to give something valuable back to society,” explains Dr. Monika Börner, family shareholder of the Zschimmer & Schwarz Group. “We are happy to support initiatives of our employees and to involve ourselves in projects that deliver direct and sustainable effects at our business locations,” adds Thomas Schwarz, also family shareholder of Zschimmer & Schwarz.