Stiftung 'Stern' Donates 20,000 Euro To Children's House 'Die Arche'

Last Wednesday, Olaf Conrad, Treasurer of the Stiftung "Stern" and Managing Director of the DPV Deutscher Pressevertrieb, handed over a very special gift to the children's house "Die Arche e.V." in Hamburg—a donation of 20,000 euro. Conrad visited the relief organization, which is celebrating its first five years in the new building in Hamburg's district of Jenfeld.

Since 2006 the Stiftung "Stern" has been supporting the initiative, which was established by Pastor Bernd Siggelkow in Berlin and was transferred to Hamburg together with Pastor Thies-Hagge. "Die Arche" is a contact point for children and youth who live in socially fragile or difficult family circumstances. Since an article was published in "Stern" magazine entitled "Let the children come to me" in 2005, the foundation has been able to hand over a total of 400,000 euro to the children's house in Hamburg. In 2007, the new building was officially inaugurated in Jenfeld; it was co-financed by the "Stern" foundation.

Tobias Lucht, social education worker and head of the "Arche" in Hamburg, showed the building to Olaf Conrad during his visit. Children get a warm meal for lunch and help with their homework afterwards, or they get special help from the educators. 80 boys and girls visit the "Arche" every day; on some days there are even 100 children. The house also offers a workshop and sports activities. Tobias Lucht emphasized that "Die Arche" is always looking for people who wish to volunteer.

The children's and youth center "Die Arche" has been among the numerous projects supported by the Stiftung "Stern" since 1995. In the meantime, "Arche" houses exist in Potsdam, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Göttingen, Frankfurt, and Munich in addition to Berlin and Hamburg. The recently presented donation of 20,000 euro was collected in 2010 and the first half of 2011. It came from contributions by loyal repeat donors who have been helping the institution since the first report about the children's house "Die Arche."