The Jugendförderverein Saalfeld-Rudolstadt e.V. and the Fürstin-Anna-Luisen-Schule Bad Blankenburg can look forward to a Christmas donation from the TITK Group this year. Both will receive 1,000 euros each. "This is our way of supporting two important social players in our region in their work with young people," explains TITK Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer.
As a non-profit association and recognised independent youth welfare organisation, the Jugendförderverein Saalfeld-Rudolstadt has been active throughout the district since 1992. Currently, 18 men and women work in the areas of mobile youth work, school social work, follow-up youth court assistance, play and media education as well as outpatient educational assistance. The 1,000 euro donation from TITK and the two associated companies OMPG and smartpolymer is intended to benefit mobile youth work in rural areas in particular. The organisation carries out this work in the administrative communities of Schwarzatal and Schiefergebirge, the municipalities of Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel, Unterwellenborn, Kaulsdorf, Hohenwarte, Drognitz, Altenbeuthen and the towns of Leutenberg and Königsee.
The team also regularly organises summer holiday camps and individual activities at the Hohenwarte reservoir. "Such programmes with sporting activities and a fun factor are always very popular with the children and young people," reports youth worker Dirk Ortloff. The donation will be used to add two more inflatable stand-up paddle boards to the existing small "fleet". "This means we can now adjust the group size for our activities on the Thuringian Sea to the capacity of our vans and provide each participant with a board, which unfortunately wasn't always possible before," says a delighted Isabel Weimann, Managing Director of the association.
Sport, games and active leisure activities are also an integral part of everyday life at Fürstin-Anna-Luisen-Schule Bad Blankenburg. More than 70 girls and boys receive individual support at the state-recognised special school run by the Diakonie Foundation Weimar - Bad Lobenstein, particularly with regard to their mental development. Despite individual limitations, the aim is to enable the pupils to be as independent as possible. To this end, the teaching staff supplement the educational work with numerous therapies and sports programmes. "We also take part in many different competitions throughout the year and are very active here," emphasises head teacher Antje Wennrich-Wydra.
For this reason, the donation money will be used to purchase new functional sportswear. "This is important for our pupils, especially those from socially disadvantaged homes," says Wennrich-Wydra. New clothing can also spur them on to perform even better. And it definitely promotes team spirit: "With our school's logo on it, it creates a great sense of community when we appear in public."
