Sindelfingen, August 2019 - Every year, around 2,000 children and young people fall ill with cancer in Germany – and sadly, the daughter of one of our employees at Kistler Instrumente GmbH in Sindelfingen is among them. This news prompted the workforce at the Sindelfingen site to raise money by organizing a prize draw at their summer party. On 7 August, the proceeds of EUR 1,308.09 were presented to Help for Children with Cancer Tübingen, a local charitable association that supports families through the difficult period of their child's illness.
'As soon as our colleague told us about his daughter's adverse diagnosis a few weeks ago, we knew one thing for sure: we had to help,' says Eberhard Bauer, Site Manager and Head of Production at Kistler Instrumente GmbH. 'So we decided to raffle most of the items we'd bought for the summer party by holding a prize draw for our employees.' The proceeds were to be donated to the association that is supporting Kistler's employee and his family.
However, Bauer never expected the appeal for donations to meet with such a huge response: 'The tickets for the draw sold out within no time at all. It was really impressive to see how our workforce responded to our colleague's misfortune with such solidarity. We're hoping that his daughter will very soon be restored to health.'
Helping to provide real support
For Anton Hofmann, President of Help for Children with Cancer Tübingen, the commitment shown by Kistler's workforce was impressive: 'I can't ever recall a company that showed such high regard for a colleague in distress. Heartfelt thanks for this support!'
A cancer diagnosis presents an enormous challenge for the child and all the family members; they are often pushed to their limits, both physically and mentally. It is not unusual for families to experience major financial difficulties as a result of the situation. 'We aim to support families in these difficult circumstances; we want to encourage them and give them help as well as hope,' Hofmann explains. For example, the charity assists by offering overnight accommodation for affected families in two facilities: one for parents, and another for families. Parents can share experiences and encourage one another in these 'temporary homes', and they can also receive counselling from psychologists. The association assists in many other ways – for instance, by offering support for the families and grieving relatives of children who are dying. To help other family members who tend to be left in the background during the period of illness, the charity organizes special days and leisure activities for siblings as well as leisure activities for grandparents. Another aspect of the association's work that deserves particular mention: the extensive range of projects and support programs that it offers in the Children’s Hospital. These include art and music therapy, complementary therapeutic activities and regular cooking sessions with the young patients.
If you would like to learn more about the wide variety of work undertaken by the charity, or if you would like to make a donation yourself, you can find more information here: www.krebskranke-kinder-tuebingen.de