Do double good with masks

They produce masks in all sizes and many colors: "The neighborhood sewers" from Graefelfing want to help in the Würmtal and at the same time their staff in Munich.

Würmtal - The initiative was founded by Henri (21) and Isabelle (24) Reich from Graefelfing. The City-Apart-Hotel on Munich's Sonnenstrasse belongs to her family. Due to the pandemic, they had to close their hotel to a large extent and send their staff on short-time work. The siblings wanted to continue paying the full wages to the employees and therefore founded "The Neighborhood Closer" in April. Some of the housekeeping staff continue to work in the hotel - only shorter. But four Hungarians are trained tailors, and they are now sewing masks. “The hours in which they sew are paid in full,” explains Isabelle Reich. The siblings have already been able to sell more than 1,000 masks since April 15, thus significantly increasing their employees' short-time work benefits. The Gräfelfinger also designed a corresponding website. "We're busy full-time," says Isabelle Reich. There was a lot going on, especially before the introduction of mandatory masks. On April 22 and 23, 200 masks were ordered from them.

Customers can decide whether they only want to support the hotel staff with their purchase or whether they also want to do something good in the Würmtal. For twelve euros there is a mask, for 18 euros there are two masks, one for the buyer and one as a donation. "We didn't just want to sell masks," explains the Count Finger. "The neighborhood sewers" handed over around 100 masks to the Caritas retirement home Maria Eich and the Germeringer Wasserwacht last week. They are in discussion with the Krailling forest sanatorium. The "Würmtal Island" help them find suitable buyers for the donated masks. The next fundraiser is already planned. They obtain the materials from the Würmtal and the city center. The packaging is in Graefelfing.

Because Henri Reich actually studies full-time business administration, construction and real estate, he quickly retired. Two friends of his sister joined them: Julia Modersitzki (20) from Graefelfing and Christina Schwarz (24) from Neuried. Like Isabelle Reich, they are currently not used anywhere else. Reich himself starts the Master's degree in Experience Communication in autumn. Modersitzki wants to start an apprenticeship as a real estate agent, and Schwarz has given up her internship due to the corona pandemic. She also has time until she starts her master's degree in October. And so the three now take care of the orders, take care of the packaging and shipping. The hotels may open again soon. But the initiative "The Neighborhood Closer" will remain a tool for a while to do good in several places. If you want to order one or two masks, you can do this on the website www.die-nachbarschafts-naeher.de.