At Home in University Hill Elementary School Vancouver
"I hope you'll come back some time", 06.02.2010
You couldn't have heard a pin drop in the brim-full gym of University Hill Elementary School in Vancouver last Friday, as more than 250 boys and girls aged from seven to twelve hung on every single word that the guests from far-off Zeulenroda were telling them about the work of the Bauerfeind team at the Olympic Games. No one heard the bell go at the end.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are in evidence wherever you look in the integrated elementary school of the state university in Vancouver: the corridors and classrooms are bedecked with flags, Olympic rings, medals and pictures of the torch. The second-graders in Eleni Georgaritas' class in particular are devoting plenty of time to the topic. The 20 children, from seven nations, are building, painting and writing about the Olympics and collecting materials about the individual disciplines.
"I'd like to get the kids excited and enthusiastic about the Olympic ideal. That includes showing them how important it is to be fair, respectful and friendly at all times and to do everything to make sure that guests feel at home," explained Eleni Georgaritas when she met Christian Grimm and Simone Gebler for the first time last week. The two Bauerfeind employees had just arrived in Vancouver from Zeulenroda and were literally standing in the rain. The elementary school teacher stopped her car and drove the new arrivals quickly to the accreditation office in the city. "We were so taken by Eleni, her helpfulness, her commitment and her Olympics project that we spontaneously promised to visit her class," reported Christian Grimm, head of Bauerfeind's Corporate Communications team.
The news that German "Olympic participants" would be reporting on the medical provision in the Olympic village spread like wildfire in the school and quickly attracted the interest of the other children: Eleni's colleagues asked if their classes could join hers to get this insight into what goes on behind the scenes at the Olympics. The children painted welcome pictures, the gym was booked instead of a classroom and a small dance group was invited to perform.
More than 250 boys and girls and their teachers attentively followed the presentation of Bauerfeind's involvement in the Olympics. As a "Friend of the Games," the company is there for the athletes of all 83 nations. Supports and orthoses are available should the athletes suffer injury. Bauerfeind orthotists will be on hand in the Olympic village to ensure that the products are applied correctly and adjusted where necessary. A long queue formed at the microphone the children used to ask their questions. The kids wanted to know exactly how many athletes would be supported. They were interested in the catering in the Olympic village, the journey by air, how the Games are financed, the accreditation around the necks of the guests and the color of the compression stockings. So absorbed was everyone by the Olympics that even the teachers almost failed to hear the bell go.
In contrast to the other children, Eleni's class was able to spend another two hours asking the guests about the Olympics. And at the end, they insisted on signing their pictures quickly. "Thanks for your visit" or "Have fun in the Olympics" were some of the things written, and also "I hope you'll come back some time."
Contact:
Simone Gebler
Corporate Communications
currently in Canada (mobile: +1 778 996 3796)
