Association work with heart and soul
For more than 30 years, the parents´support assciation has been providing comfort and help for families with children suffering from cancer. They share experiences, offer conversations and thus provide a safe space. A particularly important part of their work is the parents' house, located near the children's hospital on the grounds of the university hospital. Here, the association has not only created overnight accommodation for relatives, but also a space for meeting and counseling. Families are supported in a variety of ways, given hope and given the opportunity to exchange experiences with other parents.
In addition to providing overnight accommodation in the family home, the association's tasks also include promoting the exchange of experiences between affected families. Pizza evenings, family outings or organized group meetings allow relatives to come together. The events also include activities for patients and siblings, such as hospital clowns, dance workshops, superhero days, music therapy and other hands-on activities.
Every year, the association provides financial support not only to affected families, but also to the Children's Cancer Center at Magdeburg University Hospital and to local research into cancer in children and adolescents. By promoting research, it makes an important contribution to improving patient care. At the same time, the Förderkreis is also committed to raising public awareness and thus provides valuable educational work.
Support for families of children with cancer
Our heart project is to make a positive contribution regionally. For this reason, we have focused on supporting social and sustainable projects. In the interests of sustainability and in order to have a larger budget for our heartfelt cause, we have been doing without the usual customer gifts for several years. Moved by the valuable work of the Förderkreis krebskranker Kinder e.V., our Managing Director Frank Niemann decided to make a donation of €5,000 to the association.
The amount will be split between two projects. One half of the donation will help to finance a family weekend at the Altmark Adventure House in Zethlingen. Families whose children have recently completed acute therapy and are now switching to ambulant support are invited to the weekend. This transition confronts those affected with many questions and worries, which are to be addressed during the trip. In addition to workshops, there will also be plenty of family time.
The other half of the donation will be used to rebuild the courtyard roof of the parents' house. This was damaged in a fire and the damage could not be covered by the insurance. As the roof not only serves as a carport for the residents of the house, but also as a venue for events, it should be rebuilt as soon as possible.
Collecting waste for donations
The association also launched the "Kronkorken Spendenaktion für krebskranke Kinder“ at the start of the European Football Championship 2024. The metal crown caps are made from the valuable resource metal and are particularly easy to recycle. During the join-in campaign, crown caps are diligently collected and handed in to the containers provided between December 9th and 13th. Our colleague Michael is also collecting particularly diligently and, together with friends, family and the sports club, has so far collected around 1 ton of crown corks. We are particularly proud of our team colleague's commitment. The crown corks collected can be exchanged for money at the recycling center, which will be donated to the Förderkreis.
This is how you can contribute
If you would also like to make a contribution to the good cause, you are welcome to support the association with a donation. You also have the option of sponsoring a parents´ room and thus financing its upkeep for a year. The support group is also happy to receive donations in kind. If you would like to get involved directly, you can also support the association as a volunteer and accompany its services for affected families or become a member of the association yourself. Memberships start at just €13 per year. Even small contributions make an important contribution to supporting families who have suffered a severe stroke of fate.