For more than 30 years, guests at the Interzum trade fair in Cologne, the most important trade fair for Blum, have been signing the visitors’ book at the Blum stand in support of a charity drive – this year, the beneficiary organisation was once again ‘Light for the World’.
An impressive €100,530 was donated to this international aid organisation.
For Blum, the charity drive as part of the Interzum trade fair in Cologne has a long tradition: 32 years ago, Blum first began supporting charity organisations instead of handing out giveaways to visitors. In 2017, the fittings manufacturer once again asked visitors at the Interzum to sign the visitors’ book at the Blum trade fair stand.
“We donate €30 for every signature – that’s the price for an eye operation”, says Managing Director Gerhard E. Blum. “We have been supporting ‘Light for the World‘ for many years now.” Asked why Blum chose this particular organisation, Gerhard E. Blum explains: “With our donation, we are able to help children and older people, the vulnerable members of society.” For the sixth time, the Austrian-based organisation that operates internationally was chosen as the beneficiary of the charity drive. Its focus lies on helping blind and visually impaired people in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the globe.
One signature translates into €30 for one eye operation. Every five seconds, an adult in a Third World country loses his or her sight. Every minute, a child in a Third World country goes blind. Cataracts are responsible for approximately 50% of all cases of blindness worldwide. In a 15-minute operation that costs €30, the clouded lens can be replaced by an artificial one, thereby saving the patient’s eyesight.
“We facilitate cataract operations, set up hospitals and support the training of eye specialists and opticians. Our goal is to conquer trachoma by 2020”, the charity organisation sums up its goal. In recent years, ‘Light for the World’ performed more than 50,000 cataract operations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and South-Eastern Europe, thus restoring eyesight to people who would have otherwise have blind for life. This achievement is only made possible thanks to those visitors that attended the Blum stand at the Interzum trade fair.
For more information visit blum.com
