Service Name: Weihnachtspäckchenkonvoi (Christmas Convoy) WPK
Association: Round Table Germany
Category: Community Service, Public Event, Christmas Convoys
Status: Ongoing, Annual basis
Website: Official Page🔗
The Weihnachtspäckchenkonvoi is a volunteer-driven Christmas Service Project by Round Table, Ladies’ Circle, Old Tablers, and Tangent Clubs in Germany, that sends gift-filled shoeboxes to children in need in Eastern Europe. Each year, a large convoy of trucks and volunteers delivers the parcels directly to orphanages, schools, and rural communities, bringing joy to children who rarely receive presents.
Weihnachtspäckchenkonvoi is a German compound word.
It literally means:
Weihnachts- → Christmas, Päckchen → little packages / small parcels, Konvoi → convoy
So the full meaning is: “Christmas Small-Parcels Convoy.”
Origin
The impulse that got the Christmas parcel convoy (German Weihnachtspäckchenkonvoi, short. WPK) rolling was Round Table Germany’s national service project in 2001/2002: the establishment of the “Günter Rick Training Center” in the Rudolf Walther Foundation’s children’s village. To this day, this center in Timişoara, Romania, offers 130 young people from socially disadvantaged families vocational training who would otherwise have no chance of finding a job.
During our first visits to Romania, we saw the poverty that many regions there still suffer from today. The very warm and personal contact with some local families gave rise to the idea of bringing parcels with us on our next visit and spreading Christmas cheer. And so, in December 2001, the first Christmas parcel convoy set off for Romania and laid the foundation stone: since then, we have been taking the Christmas parcel convoy to the remote and rural regions of Eastern Europe every year, bringing presents and Christmas joy to children in need.
The Günter Rick Training Center in the Rudolf Walther Foundation Children’s Village continues to exist — to date, over 3,500 young people have completed their training there. The center includes a hairdressing salon, a carpentry shop, a tailor’s shop, workshops for motor vehicles and housekeeping, a pastry shop and, since 2004, a bakery.
We have spun off part of our convoy — the transportation of medical supplies — into a new company: Freunde helfen! Konvoi gGmbH. We affectionately call the transports the “summer convoy” and support medical care in our target countries regardless of the season.
In numbers
| Year |
# gifts |
# vehicles |
# helpers |
| 2001 |
100 |
11 |
24 |
| 2002 |
1.530 |
12 |
22 |
| 2003 |
18.520 |
13 |
40 |
| 2004 |
25.140 |
15 |
61 |
| 2005 |
43.000 |
11 |
69 |
| 2006 |
47.000 |
12 |
67 |
| 2007 |
46.000 |
13 |
73 |
| 2008 |
47.000 |
14 |
70 |
| 2009 |
48.000 |
14 |
70 |
| 2010 |
56.000 |
21 |
110 |
| 2011 |
61.000 |
24 |
120 |
| 2012 |
64.000 |
26 |
128 |
| 2013 |
66.000 |
35 |
138 |
| 2014 |
78.200 |
35 |
149 |
| 2015 |
58.000 |
25 |
120 |
| 2016 |
106.371 |
30 |
180 |
| 2017 |
132.000 |
38 |
237 |
| 2018 |
156.237 |
45 |
254 |
| 2019 |
173.161 |
51 |
285 |
| 2020 |
141.723 |
31 |
Many |
| 2021 |
156.234 |
31 |
Many |
| 2022 |
132.606 |
45 |
230 |
| 2023 |
143.095 |
51 |
260 |
| 2024
2025 |
147.232
151576 |
49
50 |
260
260 |
How does it work?
The Christmas Convoy is not simply a logistics project. It is a journey of compassion that begins long before the trucks start their engines. The mission starts already in the first half of the year when our volunteers visit schools and kindergartens all across Germany. They bring information material, speak with teachers and caregivers, and share the heart of the idea. At its core the convoy is built on the belief that children can help children. It is not about our Circles or Tables packing gifts. It is about inspiring young people to take action for other young people. When children choose and pack gifts for those who have far less they learn what togetherness means. They feel what it is like to care for someone they have never met. This spirit of community and responsibility mirrors the core values of our own organisation.
Because of this the early outreach to schools and kindergartens is one of the most important steps of the entire mission. When teachers and caregivers understand the purpose and become excited about it they carry this enthusiasm into their classrooms. From that moment on the convoy begins to grow quietly and steadily with every small compassionate act of every participating child.
Around the middle of the year the headquarter begins to assemble the logistics behind the scenes. Regional collection points are arranged. Warehouses are confirmed. Volunteers come together to coordinate the many pieces that must align in order to move thousands of gifts safely to their destination.
In the third quarter the hands on work begins. Schools and kindergartens that received information earlier in the year are contacted again. They share the dates when they can deliver their parcels to local collection points or when they can be picked up by the local Circles and Tables. At these collection points the gifts are gathered for the first time. Every little parcel carries a personal story and the hope of the child who packed it.
Around the middle of November the regional warehouses open. Local teams bring in the collected parcels and an impressive wave of volunteer dedication unfolds. The gifts are sorted by age group such as kindergarten primary school or young secondary school and also by gender. Volunteers check every parcel to ensure that it is well packed and fair. When a gift is too light or too heavy or fails the well known rustle test it is carefully opened and thoughtfully supplemented. This process guarantees that every child who receives a parcel truly gets a complete and joyful present.
After sorting and checking the parcels are placed into larger boxes organised by age and gender. These boxes are then placed on pallets so that the Sattelzuege can be loaded safely and efficiently. Every pallet represents hours of love commitment and teamwork.
From the regional warehouses the packed trucks begin their journey to the central departure in Hanau near Frankfurt am Main. On the Saturday of the last November weekend a powerful moment unfolds. The entire convoy gathers. Around 250 volunteers fill the buses that accompany the trucks. There is excitement. There is pride. There is the shared feeling that something meaningful is about to begin.
The convoy starts its long journey together. After the first hours the convoy separates into its final routes toward Moldova Romania Bulgaria and since 2025 also Albania. Depending on the destination the teams travel thirty to forty hours so that the distribution can begin on Monday morning.
At the destination the magic becomes real. The parcels are brought to kindergartens schools and children’s homes. Sometimes the volunteers are welcomed with songs or handmade signs. Sometimes they quietly join the children to open the gifts and witness the joy with their own eyes. These moments often stay with the volunteers forever. They feel the pure gratitude from children who receive a present that was packed far away by someone their own age. They see the impact of every minute of work that went into this journey.
After four days of distribution the volunteers and trucks begin their return trip to Hanau. The atmosphere in the buses is warm and thoughtful. There is time to reflect on what everyone has experienced. There is space to share emotions and to celebrate the friendships that have grown within the Cloverleaf family. Volunteers exchange ideas. They talk about what worked well and what could be improved. And soon new plans for the next Christmas Parcel Convoy already begin to take shape.
The convoy is a living example of what can happen when many people unite in kindness. It shows that even the smallest hands can give hope. And it reminds all of us that compassion travels far when it begins with a single caring thought.
by Fabian Bendun RT Germany 9 Saarbrücken and Mirco Miller RT Switzerland 19 Kreuzlingen
Legacy
Besides those already discussed: Establishment of Round Table in Moldova
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