Team Of G+J Verlagsgruppe München Helps Horizont e.V. Initiative

Hans-Hermann Sprado assertively calls out, "Give me my wall!" 250 square meters in the building of the Horizont e.V. initiative are ready for a fresh coat of paint. The "P.M." editor-in-chief and publisher of Gruner + Jahr's P.M. group moves the roller up and down the wall, making plenty of noise. The surface glimmers with a fresh coat of bright white paint.

As a team of six, the G+J Verlagsgruppe München went on its commitment assignment last Friday. It is dedicated to the Horizont e.V. initiative for homeless children and their mothers, founded by actress Jutta Speidel. Director Claus Klein said, "Many of them are immigrants. They were subjected to terrible violence and have been seriously traumatized. 20 women and 40 children are temporarily being cared for and are receiving curative and art therapy; after 18 months they will be transferred to more permanent living environments. We are answering Hannah Arendt's call for 'thinking without railings.' The inhabitants have to become independent quickly. The staff is only there to keep them from falling as they make their way along their self-chosen path." The trust in their own determination pays off with a success rate of 95 percent.

After two and a half hours the large work and play room is half finished. Ute Schmidmayer, administrative assistant and head of the works council, and Simone Arndt, director project management of "P.M.", are working on the corners with the small roller while "P.M." editor Wolfgang Goede tries his luck with the large wall. Bernd Stolzmann, "P.M. History" graphic designers, member of the works council and experienced craftsman, acts as the libero, helping out wherever he can and offering helpful advice. Standing on a ladder, Publishing director Volker Breid kids him: "Who would have thought that I'd ever be working under your supervision?" With a calm hand he paints a perfectly straight edge along the transition between wall and ceiling. 

Now it's time for a coffee break. The members of the G+J commitment team sit down in the kitchen together with women and children from the institution. Their bring-along gifts, coloring books from "Eltern," are distributed; the ice melts and a conversation develops. Klein later explains that this kind of contact is very important to him: "Our clients learn that this is not a holiday inn and that the institution needs active volunteers and, on top of that, a lot of money."

Tiles are glued everywhere in the six-storey building. They represent donations for windows, doors, and kitchen appliances. 50,000 euro per month needs to be raised to maintain the facility. The G+J employees donated ten hours each over the weekend, and the commitment pot provided them with 700 euro for materials.

The final bit of work, painting the hallway, was completed on Saturday afternoon. The team worked in a highly coordinated way. The vanguard spreads out drop clothes on the floor, tapes the switches, outlets and molding. The painting troop applied the paint. And the rearguard put things away and cleaned up. It’s almost "swarm intelligence," Ute Schmidmayer remarked.

The goal of the commitment assignment had thus been met: helping to integrate fringe groups of society, supporting Gruner + Jahr's social commitment, vertically networking hierarchies, and teamwork training – "a triple benefit for all of us," said director Claus Klein to the team in the end.