Our alliances with other foundations and supporters enable us to react quickly and appropriately to current needs. For this reason, we are active in various joint funds. With the “Hamburger Spielräume” fund, we support disadvantaged children and young people who are strongly affected by the covid-19 measures.

Physical distancing in the covid-19 crisis has greatly changed social interaction. Particularly young people are affected by restrictions on social contact. Studies show that these restrictions often lead to lasting stress among the young target group.

We hence founded the “Hamburger Spielräume” fund for children, young people and families in alliance with other foundations in June 2020. The joint initiative supports extracurricular projects in child and youth work in Hamburg, to particularly bring children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds together and to set a positive example for their personal development.

The fund initially started with € 100,000. After the strong response in the first round of applications, the supporters provided the fund with new resources. Currently the sixth funding round is underway. At the moment, the fund is aiming to lastingly strengthen extracurricular work for children and young people – the need is still great. So far, the initiative has provided a total of about 1.5 million euros.

The lack of contact with peers is a major challenge for young people and cannot be replaced by digital communication. In order to support the affected target group during the difficult time of the pandemic and to strengthen their personal development, we co-initiated the “Hamburger Spielräume” fund.

A courageous start into the future: the “MUT Academy” guides young people from school into professional training and helps develop individual perspectives for participants’ upcoming working lives.

Around 60% of young people in Hamburg who leave a district school after the 10th grade do not make the transition into professional training. However, there is not only a lack of training prospects for the students; they often also lack a positive self-image and belief in their own abilities.

With its varied programme of workshops, camps and individual support measures, the Courage Academy prepares these young people for the new phase of life and takes away their fear of the upcoming changes. The academy primarily supports those who neither have the chance of attending a practical or transfer class nor of receiving support through a career entry guidance programme. Through the two-year programme, the “MUT

Academy” provides the support these young people lack in their own environments and helps them to solve their motivation problems.

The covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the conditions on the employment and training market. With its intensive support programme, the “MUT Academy” succeeds in strengthening young people at an important turning point and opens up long-term training and career prospects for them. We support this contribution to more equal opportunities.

The German Paediatric Pain Center sets standards in the treatment of children with chronic pain and has established itself as an international reference centre.

The German Paediatric Pain Center helps children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain to get it under control and to enjoy lives that are as carefree as possible. It was founded in 2012 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Boris Zernikow at the Vestische Children and Youth Clinic in Datteln, Germany. Due to its ground-breaking therapeutic concept, it is considered a reference centre in Europe.

The Paediatric Pain Center pursues a multimodal approach to pain therapy and conducts internationally excellent research on methods of multidisciplinary care. The centre is regularly awarded prizes for its creative communication activities, which it uses to reach the affected people and their relatives. It also educates the public about the topic of “children

and chronic pain”.

As an initial funder, we helped to establish the German Paediatric Pain Center. In Germany alone, there are around 350,000 people affected – and the number is rising. The pain is often accompanied by depression or social withdrawal. Therefore, rapid and effective treatment can change lives. The success of the therapy as well as the research and educational work of the team have paid off in many ways: since its foundation, numerous clinics in Germany and abroad have adopted the concept.