Helping is better than arguing

More than 40.000 children and teenagers in Germany are threatened and affected by deadly and live-shortening diseases. The stationary children‘s and youth hospice central Germany at Tambach-Dietharz gives affected families the opportunity of living together 28 days a year. The holistic care concepts not only provides affectionate and optimal care for the critically ill child but also a comprehensive family aid.

The discharge visits strengthen the whole family system and provide new energies for the parents and healthy siblings. The reason is, that the 24 hour care for ill children is often very demanding. More than 35 permanent employees and many voluntary helpers work there at the moment. The non-profit sponsoring association is constantly in need of donations to uphold their important portfolio of assistance.

More than 1 million euro are required at annual frequency only to ensure the operation of this social institution because the funding through health insurance is not enough. More than 950  affected families from all over Germany used the stationary assistance of children‘s and youth hospice since the opening in November 2011. Since 2008 more than 6.7 million euro where invested in the purchase and reconstruction of the former administration building of the „Thüringer Fernwasserversorgung“ at Tambach-Dietharz (Thuringian forest) and the transformation into the children‘s and youth hospice Central Germany.

92 percent of this funds were raised through donations of private persons, associations, schools and companies and non-govermental contributions through charitable trusts. Thanks to this aid a literally second home came into existence – far from the sterile hospital atmosphere. The stationary children‘s hospice is operated by a six-member sponsoring association on voluntary base since 2005. This makes it East Germany‘s biggest social project on voluntary base.

The founder, initiator and until today voluntary chairman Klaus-Dieter Heber has been awarded with the „Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland“ (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) in 2015. In 2017 the sponsoring association planed an urgently required expansion of the children‘s and youth hospice because of the growing demand. In a currently unrenovated auxiliary building new guest and therapy-, community- and social rooms are projected as well as a woodwork shop. Therefore, an additional  investment  of 1 million is needed. Unfortunately, there are no govermental fundings available at the moment.