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Truma Celebrates Earth Day with Record Turnout

group of volunteers holding truma flag

For the third year in a row, Truma North America celebrated Earth Day by giving back to the Elkhart community through service. On Saturday, April 22nd, Truma employees and their families were joined by members of the RV Women’s Alliance and students from Goshen College to spend the morning picking up litter and helping with other park maintenance projects.

“It was a great event to give back to the community and show our appreciation for what the City of Elkhart is doing to improve the quality of life for the residents,” said CEO Gerhard Hundsberger. 

The Annual Truma Spring Clean-up got its start in 2021 when Hundsberger and his team noticed the amount of debris that accumulated along County Road 6 outside their North American headquarters. They took it upon themselves to get outside and take care of the area around their building.

That first year was an employee-only event held during the work day. In the second year (2022), Truma remained focused on County Road 6, but reached out to other members of the RV industry and was joined by the entire Century Chemical team.

“We opened it up to the community, and they welcomed us. The Parks Department was so helpful in setting up the event and bringing supplies. We had returning volunteers from the RV industry, and we also had students from Goshen College who heard about the event online,” said Head of Marketing Stacey Harris. “It was a great turnout, and we are excited to grow the event even more next year.”

According to Jamison Czarnecki, superintendent of the City of Elkhart Parks and Recreation Department, Island Park was the city’s first official park, donated by James Rufus Beardsley in 1887. A monument in the park states the Island’s unique shape of an elk’s heart may be where the city got its name.

In addition to collecting the trash in Island Park, Lundquist Park, and along the riverwalk in the surrounding area, volunteers also helped get the park ready for the Spring and Summer season. This included spreading fresh mulch around the bases of trees in Lundquist Park and repainting the trash barrels throughout both parks. Some of the cans had already been decorated by other volunteer groups – we especially liked this one with a “Truma Blue“ smiley face on the side.

Think Global, Act Local

The 3rd Annual Spring Clean-up was not limited to Elkhart. Truma Employee, Lacy Kaszewski, participated remotely — collecting trash and recyclables in her own neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland.

collage of volunteer cleaning parks in Baltimore, Maryland