Düsseldorf/Hanover. 14 November 2007. One in six children in Germany lives in relative poverty, which adds up to over 2.6 million children and youngsters under the age of 18. This was revealed in the latest figures published by the Kinderschutzbund (German society for the protection of children) in September this year. For these children, poverty often means inadequate nutrition, social exclusion and being disadvantaged over access to education, for example.
The Vodafone Stiftung (foundation) is supporting facilities and day centres in deprived urban areas across Germany that offer lunch clubs for children. In doing so, it hopes to help disadvantaged children. A shared midday meal not only alleviates acute need, it also helps to prevent children from falling into a downward social spiral. The foundation is providing a total of EUR 100,000 to support the aid organisation Children for a better World e.V., which was founded by Dr. Florian Langenscheidt and which aims to improve the lives of children and young people in need. The Vodafone Stiftung's donation will be used in seven centres, including the Hilfe für hungernde Kinder gGmbH ("help for hungry children") organisation in Hanover, which is receiving funding to the value of EUR 80,000. Today, instead of a symbolic cheque, the children will be presented with a super-sized cake.
In line with the national average in Germany, one in six children in Lower Saxony lives in poverty. In the Hanover region, as many as one child in four is poor. This has far-reaching consequences for their health and development. The children affected are therefore in particular need of our support," comments Dr. Florian Langenscheidt.
Thomas Holtmanns, Managing Director of the Vodafone Stiftung explains: "Shared meals, taking part, being together, a point of contact and someone to talk to – the children who visit these centres experience all of this. The staff perform an invaluable role that goes far beyond the provision of a hot meal. What they are really doing is providing an elementary basis for a healthy life for the boys and girls in need."
Kornelia Rust-Bulmahn, initiator and Managing Director of Hilfe für hungernde Kinder in Hanover adds: "The donation by the Vodafone Stiftung and Children for a better World will enable us to provide a healthy meal for 800 boys and girls over a period of 12 months. For the children, the fact that they feel part of our community and receive attention and recognition is at least as important as the meals themselves."
The centres supported by the Vodafone Stiftung are as follows:
1) Essen-Katernberg: Kinderhaus Blauer Elefant
2) Frankfurt am Main: Mittagstisch Friedrich Stoltze Schule
3) Halle: S.C.H.I.R.M. project
4) Hamburg: Arche Hamburg
5) Hanover: Hilfe für hungernde Kinder gGmbH
6) Radebeul: Etwas warmes braucht ein Kind
7) Unna: Aktion für Kinder in Unna e.V.
About the Vodafone Stiftung:
The Vodafone Stiftung is one of the large company-related foundations in Germany. It supports and initiates projects with the goal of providing impetus to social progress and in order to assume social policy responsibility. With its motto "Recognition. Encouragement. Making a difference", the foundation concentrates its involvement on the fields of education, social issues and health as well as art and culture. The main focus is on children and young people, as they are the ones who will shape the country's future.
About Children for a better World:
CHILDREN for a better World e.V. is a children's aid organisation founded by the publisher Florian Langenscheidt in 1994 together with 32 dedicated individuals from the fields of politics, business and the media. To date, the association has raised more than EUR 12 million in donations and funded numerous projects for children without a home or hope in Germany and abroad. CHILDREN's "Hunger in Deutschland" campaign has been supporting social centres that offer a hot meal and daytime care for children since 2004.