Making a Global Contribution to Education through Partnership

As one of the largest logistics companies in the world and an adherent to the UN Global Compact, Deutsche Post DHL is well-aware of its solemn responsibilities toward society, including the respect for human rights. It understands that “Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights” (Principle 1 UNGC). Deutsche Post DHL considers these societal responsibilities not as a burden, but as guiding tenets that can offer opportunities while advancing its business.

Education, for instance – so crucial for socioeconomic progress, yet out of reach for so many children around the world – is an area where Deutsche Post DHL can help make a lasting investment in the future. This is why the company recently teamed up with the international not-for-profit organization Teach For All . The aim of this global partnership is to improve access to education as well as the quality of education and educational systems throughout the world.

Through its GoTeach program, education is firmly established as one of the three central pillars of Deutsche Post DHL’s corporate responsibility commitment, along with disaster response (GoHelp) and environmental protection (GoGreen).

Deutsche Post DHL launched its GoTeach program in 2009. The experience and success of the partnership with Teach First Deutschland led Deutsche Post DHL to expand its commitment to education globally by partnering with Teach For All starting in 2010.

“We believe that commitment to better education and greater educational equality is paying off,” says Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL. “As the leading logistics service provider and one of the largest global employers, we need well-qualified and motivated employees from all areas of society. That’s also why education, alongside the environment and disaster management, is one of the main focuses of our social engagement."

Teach For All is a global network of national organizations working to expand educational opportunities in their countries by recruiting their nations’ most promising talent to join the effort. These organizations seek to inspire outstanding university graduates from a range of disciplines to make a bold commitment and spend two years teaching in schools located in areas of high need.
The organizations that comprise the Teach For All network train these graduates to make an immediate impact on student learning during their two-year commitments. They also position “alumni” of the program to continue exerting a positive influence on education after the two years as they pursue their careers across a variety of professional sectors.

The national organizations that are partners of Teach For All are all independent, locally run, and locally funded non-profits. Teach For All helps multiply their effectiveness by providing direct support services as well as fostering a powerful network. Through this global support network, Teach For All helps its members save time, reduce the learning curve, access additional resources, and collaborate. The end result is greater scale, stronger student achievement, more effective alumni leadership, and sustainable organizational strength in each member country.

In partnering with Teach For All, Deutsche Post DHL aims to help the association to grow its global network and boost its impact further. Along with its financial support, the two partners will identify various collaborative activities. Deutsche Post DHL will also actively contribute to the development of the new teachers, supporting them to improve the future prospects of disadvantaged students.

In addition, Deutsche Post DHL will offer various joint activities and volunteering opportunities to its employees worldwide to give them the opportunity to personally contribute to better education. Whether by mentoring Teach For All teachers, providing support for schools through school-supply drives, or asking colleagues to participate in various volunteering activities, Deutsche Post DHL Deutsche Post DHL is following through on its commitment of contributing to educational success.

“Teach For All and Deutsche Post DHL both share the same basic principle of assuming global responsibility for future generations and implementing this regionally,” remarks Appel.

The initial focus of the joint activities is on the expansion of the existing national Teach For All organizations in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and India. As the largest global corporate partner of Teach For All, Deutsche Post DHL will also support the development of new Teach For All organizations in Spain and Brazil, and more locations will be added in coming years.

“Together with Deutsche Post DHL, we anticipate growing the size of our network from 18 national organizations today to more than 30 by 2013,” says Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All.

Launched in 2007, Teach For All has a strong lineage. It is the result of a shared initiative by two well-respected pioneers in the field: Teach For America, founded in the United States in 1990; and Teach First, launched in the United Kingdom in 2002. Together, in response to demand from entrepreneurs around the world seeking to start Teach For America and Teach First-like enterprises in their own countries, they founded Teach for All, which was inaugurated at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September 2007.

Both the Teach For America and Teach First programs have demonstrated a significant impact on student performance and educational reform in their countries. These improvements have led to changes that enhance students’ opportunities for success, particularly for those in more disadvantaged socioeconomic environments.

As a global network, Teach For All enables organizations around the world pursuing the same mission to learn from each other and to have an impact on education in their countries in a more effective and efficient way.

“By partnering with Teach For All, we support a movement that aims at improving educational inequality,” explains Ralf Dürrwang , Vice President of GoTeach. “By working together with ambitious social entrepreneurs at both the international and national levels, I am convinced that DPDHL will be part of a global success story.”

In addition to supporting the global Teach For All network, Deutsche Post DHL has launched country-level partnerships with several national Teach For All organizations, including Teach For India. Deutsche Post DHL launched the country-level partnership with Teach For India in September 2010, and is providing financial and other forms of support. The partnership includes various joint activities at Teach For India schools to improve the quality of education and help students to unlock their full potential.

One of the particular challenges in India is that a teaching career is not considered very prestigious, which means that promising young professionals who join the effort may do so against their family’s wishes. Nevertheless, in 2010, Teach For India received applications from 3,800 candidates who competed for 87 teaching fellowships.

In terms of Deutsche Post DHL’s contribution in India, according to Anke Jahn, Program Manager for Deutsche Post DHL’s partnership with Teach For All, it is especially important that not just national management but also operational staff get involved in the program, too. “In India, our DHL drivers can say so much to these children,” says Jahn. “They have credibility, and can be something to aspire to for underprivileged youth. We want to turn the energy of our employees into action.”

Deutsche Post DHL is committed to contributing to the improvement of educational standards across the globe and to a sustainable improvement in access to and quality of education through its GoTeach program. Started in 2009 through the launch of Teach First Deutschland, GoTeach endeavors to develop and support initiatives that foster education and help young people to expand their personal development and skills. The GoTeach program also provides opportunities for Deutsche Post DHL employees to volunteer in educational projects and to become actively involved in contributing to the objective of improving educational quality and access.

Teach First Deutschland is a non-profit organization committed to promoting equity in education in Germany. The initiative recruits outstanding university graduates to spend two years working at schools in areas of great need. Deutsche Post DHL supports Teach First Deutschland financially, in its communications work, and with the program’s expansion within Germany’s federal states. Core elements of the partnership are the “Camp4us” summer camps, volunteering by employees, and training and recruiting for the Teach First Fellows.

For Deutsche Post DHL families whose incomes are not enough to afford higher levels of schooling, GoTeach now provides additional support for their children. The newly established scholarship program UPstairs gives children of employees the opportunity to pursue higher levels of education that would otherwise be financially out of reach. UPstairs scholarship holders receive a monthly stipend. Financial assistance is just one aspect of the program, however. It also offers individual services to each child, such as mentoring by a company employee, an internship at a Deutsche Post DHL branch, as well as further learning opportunities, such as IT or language courses.

In addition, GoTeach has entered into a partnership with SOS Children’s Villages to improve access to education for children and young people in the communities where SOS Children’s Villages programs are active. It aims to support local programs and educational infrastructure of SOS Children’s Villages, and foster employability through empowerment and needs-based individual support.

Finally, alongside these global programs, many divisions, subsidiaries, and country organizations within Deutsche Post DHL actively promote equality in education. These programs and projects are diverse and aligned with the educational needs in that particular area. Some examples include collaborating with universities, supporting a mentoring program in Kenya, and helping spruce up library facilities for schools in Nepal. In Germany, the Deutsche Post Brings School to Life program helps students of all ages to improve their reading, writing, and media skills.