When we travel, we see the world, we can relax, we meet other cultures, people and perspectives – and thereby also get to know ourselves better. To enable individual travel for people with disabilities, Enrico Allara, employee at Zschimmer & Schwarz in Tricerro, Italy, launched the Bear's Travels project. He was supported with a sum of 50,000 euros as part of the donation campaign for the 125th anniversary of Zschimmer & Schwarz. The money was used to purchase a camping vehicle that is made available to people with amputations or other disabilities for individual travel.

"There are 'sports for the disabled', 'travel for the disabled' or 'institutions that also accommodate the disabled': these are all commendable initiatives. At the same time, there is a danger that people with disabilities will be even more marginalised as a result and that fixed schemes will create the belief that some things are possible for disabled people while others are not," explains Enrico Allara, who himself lost a leg in his early 20s. "We want to challenge this idea by giving people the opportunity to travel individually and independently, so that they can get to know the world and themselves better and be free from set expectations. People wo have experienced dark moments in their lives should be able to see the light of wide horizons again."

On the occasion of the company’s 125-year anniversary in 2019, the shareholders of the Zschimmer & Schwarz Group started a special charitable programme: all employees around the world were asked to present local initiatives that the company could support with a donation.

“Bear’s Travels” is one of 14 charitable projects across Europe currently supported by Zschimmer & Schwarz with a total sum of around 200,000 euros. “For more than 125 years, our company has represented a philosophy that always puts people first”, explains Monika Börner, shareholder of the Zschimmer & Schwarz Group. “Therefore, we try to give something valuable back to society and involve ourselves in projects that deliver direct and sustainable effects at our business locations.”