Mercedes-Benz has announced today that they along with aerospace company EADS have donated 100,000 Euros to “Herz für Herz Stiftung für Leben!”.

As I'm sure the majority of my American-dwelling readers have never heard of the above mentioned foundation, “Herz für Herz Stiftung für Leben!” was established in 2003 to collect donations for providing life-saving medical care to children suffering from heart disease in developing countries.  More specifically, the funds donated by Mercedes and EADS will go to help fund medical care for children in Vietnam, where it will be used to finance a children’s cardiology ward in the former imperial city of Hue.  Here's what Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group had to say about the donation:  “Our donation to the project in Vietnam is a step toward fulfilling our joint goal of providing children with a promising future.”

For more information on Mercedes and EADS' donation as well as the “Herz für Herz – Stiftung für Leben!” foundation, check out the full press release below.



OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Mercedes-Benz and EADS donate 100,000 euros to foundation helping children with heart disease

Stuttgart/Munich, Feb 15, 2006

The automaker Mercedes-Benz and the aerospace company EADS have donated 100,000 euros to “Herz für Herz Stiftung für Leben!”. This foundation was established in 2003 to collect donations for providing life-saving medical care to children suffering from heart disease in developing countries.

The donation from Mercedes-Benz and EADS will help fund medical care for children in Vietnam, where it will be used to finance a children’s cardiology ward in the former imperial city of Hue. “DaimlerChrysler is involved in numerous projects such as STAR CARE whose aim is to support children in need,” says Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group, responsible for Sales and Marketing. “Our donation to the project in Vietnam is a step toward fulfilling our joint goal of providing children with a promising future.”

The Mercedes-Benz dealership in Munich is also sponsoring “Herz für Herz Stiftung für Leben!”. The benefit concert “Ein Herz für Kinder in Vietnam” will take part at the Bavarian State Opera House in Munich on February 18. “With this donation, the Mercedes-Benz Center in Munich is continuing its long-standing support of social causes, and our focus this year will once again be on helping children in need,” says the dealership’s director, Ulrich Kowalewski.

General information on “Herz für Herz - Stiftung für Leben!”

The “Herz für Herz – Stiftung für Leben!” foundation conducts preventive, diagnostic and curative measures, in particular for children from poverty-stricken regions of the world. The foundation’s aim is to help children by providing them with heart surgery and rehab measures in their home countries – thus, in a sense, helping others to help themselves.

“Herz für Herz - Stiftung für Leben!” also supports the training and further education of doctors and medical staff throughout the world, provides information on the threat posed by heart and circulatory diseases, and contributes to the development of advanced treatment methods. In addition, the foundation promotes research on heart and circulatory ailments as well as improvements in heart surgery. To this end, it is also involved in various scientific projects and events.

Copyright © 2006, DaimlerChrysler AG