“Hamburger Spielräume” community fund

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.

The physical distancing measures introduced during the pandemic profoundly altered everyday life and social interaction. Young people, and especially those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, found the restrictions particularly burdensome; for months at a time, they lacked contact with peers, access to leisure activities and opportunities for sports.

Against this backdrop, we joined a partnership of Hamburg-based foundations to launch the “Hamburger Spielräume” fund in June 2020. Its resources were used to support initiatives that, as restrictions eased, enabled young people — particularly those from disadvantaged circumstances — to reconnect and regain a sense of community.

In the years since, the funded projects in open child and youth work have reached more than 50,000 children and young people, ranging from holiday programmes to regular afternoon and weekend activities. At the same time, young people today continue to face a variety of pressures: economic uncertainty, global crises, psychological strain and the long-term impacts of the pandemic.

Studies such as COPSY show that the psychosocial risk remains elevated, especially for children and adolescents living in cramped housing conditions or with limited family support. The fund responds to this ongoing need and strengthens open child and youth work in Hamburg in the long term. Funding is directed in particular towards projects located in neighbourhoods with development needs and to initiatives in which children and young people actively shape the activities themselves. Together with now 13 partner foundations, we are committed to reaching thousands of young people in Hamburg each year and giving them confidence for the future.

A lack of contact with peers poses a particular challenge for young people. Digital communication cannot replace physical proximity and often leads to feelings of loneliness. For children and adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds, school holidays can also be a period with few stimulating opportunities, as many families lack the financial means for outings or travel. To help address these challenges and support the personal development of young people, we co-initiated the “Hamburger Spielräume” fund.