How Messe Düsseldorf employees are giving back

Every year, Messe Düsseldorf holds a drawing among its employees to award donations to the organizations where they volunteer. In the most recent round, Andreas Rothvoß, Dorothea Stencel, Jan Korreck and Sören Hebrok were among the winners. Though their volunteer roles differ, one thing unites them: the desire to help others. Here are the four winners and their work.

The German Red Cross, the Johanniter, an animal welfare association – anyone looking to donate quickly has an organization in mind. “But hardly anyone realizes that a fire brigade’s support association needs help too,” says Andreas Rothvoß. Rothvoß, who joined Messe Düsseldorf in 2019, is not only a fire crew leader with the volunteer fire brigade in Essen-Byfang but also chairman of the support association for the volunteer fire brigades of Essen.

“Maintaining a capable fire brigade is a mandatory task for the municipality. The city pays for the fire engine and the station”, he explains. “But there are always extras beyond that: the things that make community life worthwhile in the first place.” These extras include an outing for the youth fire brigade, for instance, teaching materials for the children’s fire brigade, or tents and benches for the open house. The support association funds these extras, and all 16 of Essen’s volunteer fire brigades have joined forces within it. As chairman, Rothvoß primarily handles all the administrative and public relations work. He represents the association at Essen’s volunteering day, collects donations and works to “raise the group’s profile”.

He especially cares about the next generation. Children’s and youth fire brigades are meant to spark enthusiasm early on, winning young people over to the work of the fire brigade in the long term. “Anyone who joins usually stays, because it’s a meaningful thing to do,” says Rothvoß. And there is something else he values: “We firefighters rely on one another completely. That kind of camaraderie is rare elsewhere in life.”

Tuesday evening, just before 10 p.m.: Dorothea Stencel and her colleagues set up a table outside a museum in Düsseldorf’s old town. They get the soup ready and prepare the drinks in the bus. She has worked in marketing at Messe Düsseldorf since January 2025 and, for about three years now, has regularly gone out with the “goodnight bus” run by the association “vision:teilen” – reaching people who live on the streets or have very little.

She first noticed the bus while strolling through the old town. “You see it around a lot and you can always drop in for a look. At some point I said: I’m going to do this too.” The routine is well rehearsed: soup from a brewery and packaged rolls from bakeries that donate them. Then, there are two fixed stops: the K20 museum in the old town and the central station. There, the goodnight bus team hands out not only food and drinks to those in need but also T-shirts, jackets, sleeping bags and, on request, even tents. “Everyone has the same right to it“, says Stencel. “We make sure the first person doesn’t take everything, and that it’s done fairly.”

The guests – that is how the team refers to the people who come – are largely the same faces each time. “It brings you back down to earth, too,” says Dorothea Stencel. “You have a roof over your head, something to eat, a shower. You realize that’s a luxury.” What does she get back? “A thank-you and a smile.” And even more: a team that occasionally heads to the Christmas market together in their spare time is part of it, as are the rare, especially moving moments. Dorothea Stencel: “I know two guests who managed to turn things around and built independent, settled lives again. They came back two or three more times just to say thank you.”

Jan Korreck is passionate about getting more people excited about board games and helping them connect to one another. The team manager for digital project management has worked at Messe Düsseldorf for nearly ten years and is a founding member of the board game association “wESEL spielt e.V.,” which was launched in 2022. The association grew out of casual game nights held after the pandemic: “We were sitting together and thought: we could put this into an association and get others excited about the hobby.” No sooner said than done.

The original eight members have since grown to around 40. The association hosts open, free game nights several times a month. “This forms a community that spans age groups, social background and nationalities,” says Korreck. Two members also regularly visit an assisted living group to play games with the residents. At these game nights, people with various support needs experience just how much board games can bring people together. “Through playing, they learn to listen, to join in and to deal with occasional frustration, because you don’t always win.” The range of games and age groups is extensive, sopeople mingle according to their interests at the regular game nights.

The 500 euros will go toward the Wesel Game Days – a free, public event on November 7 and 8 at the Wesel adult education center. Why is it all worthwhile? “Good volunteer work thrives on many people contributing small things to the best of their abbility,” says Korreck. “You don’t have to take on a formal role right away. Anyone can start small.”

Sören Hebrok has spent nearly half of his life at the ping-pong table: he has played since he was twelve years old and has also coached and mentored for many years now. Hebrok has worked in internal auditing at Messe Düsseldorf for 25 years and serves as deputy head of the table tennis section at SG Kaarst e.V. There, he looks primarily after the younger players. “After two knee surgeries, I can’t play actively the way I used to. But I’m still there for the training.”

It all began with his son, who took up the sport as a child. Over the years, Hebrok helped build up a section that grew from around 25 members to, at to over 60 at its peak. Most recently, he has assembled another young team, including 13-year-olds, with whom he will start the new season in the fall. “It’s wonderful to pass something on to the next generation,” he says. Pass on what, exactly? “Discipline, concentration, perseverance and the ability to work as a team – things that will help the children later in their working lives, too.”

What matters most to him is bringing people together across all boundaries. “It doesn’t matter where someone comes from or whether they have foreign roots. Here, everyone is equal.” The club could put the donation to good use and has already invested it in new jerseys and equipment. “Membership fees are low, and sponsors are hard to find. So the donation from Messe Düsseldorf was a real gift,” says Hebrok, delighted at the support from his employer.