Evonik Sparks Fun in Science and Sports at Children Home in Johor Bahru Malaysia supported by German Giant Borussia Dortmund

• Evonik donates ten thousand ringgit to Grace Covenant Community Care in Johor Bahru to support their children’s education
• Chemistry class with interesting experiments stimulates interest in science
• Borussia Dortmund’s Neven Subotić and Sven Bender contribute to this meaningful event

JOHOR BAHRU. To enlighten children’s interest in science, today Evonik brought a fun chemistry class to the Grace Covenant Community Care, a non-profit organization in Johor Bahru which provides shelter, education, care and protection to children with challenging backgrounds. In addition to presenting a ten thousand ringgit donation, Evonik invited players from its sponsored-Germany sports club, Borussia Dortmund (BVB) to bring cheer to the children in Grace Covenant.

Children’s welfare and education are always a part of Evonik’s corporate focus. As one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals, Evonik often engages with schools to inspire children’s interest in science by conducting chemistry class with experiments that are fun and easy to understand. Dr. Klaus Engel, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries, said, "Evonik believes that by capitalizing science at an early age helps the youth to engage science in school later, which eventually will affect their wishes to pursue a science-related career."

During the chemistry class, children from Grace Covenant were given the opportunity to experiment the magic power of Evonik’s FAVOR® superabsorbent. They also explored chromatography for the first time, witnessing how colors can be separated into their various pigments.

The afternoon was full of joy and excitement, "It’s amazing! Black inks are combinations of several colored dyes!" said the little scientist, Karen, aged 10, "I always thought science is boring but after today I realized it is fun indeed! I had a great time playing with different color makers and I am planning to turn my colorful filter paper into a butterfly by wrapping it with a black pipe cleaner!"

Wrapping up the experiments, the second highlight of the day was the surprise visit by the famous BVB players, defender Neven Subotić and midfielder Sven Bender, who are also active in charity and philanthropic activities around the world. Together with the BVB legend Karl-Heinz Riedle and its mascot Emma the Bee, the children enjoyed the games and autograph session with their guests from Germany, some lucky ones even won the BVB jerseys and other souvenirs sponsored by Evonik.

The day was ended with a donation presentation to support the children’s education. Peter Meinshausen, Regional President of Evonik South East Asia, Australia & New Zealand, said, "We are delighted to bring science and some warmth to Grace Covenant today. With this donation we hope that Evonik will be able to give the children some support in their education, and most importantly, a better learning journey ahead."