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Krefeld. “We have a manageable number of members, so we were able to hold our general meeting virtually and set the course for the second half of the year.” -Pandemic could remain active under changed conditions. “Cancer among children and the problems in families have not decreased, but understandably they have in part faded into the background due to the pandemic,” says Jens Schmitz.
The formalities in a nutshell: At the general meeting, the board was partially redefined: The first chairman was re-elected, the new second chairman is Karsten Körner (Düsseldorf). He replaced Marc Oestreich, who had resigned from his position for private reasons. The cashier Stephan Kröll and the secretary Stefanie Zohren were also re-elected.
In addition, parts of the advisory board have been newly appointed. New to the committee are Ilse Karunarathna (retired teacher, Willich), Torsten Greis (Willich), Bernd Gülden (Mönchengladbach) and Bernd Zohren (Krefeld). Sigrid Völpel, Annemarie Szava, Stefanie Kröll, Gabi Sümnick, Aydin Aytekin, Cindy Loskyll, Barbara Stüben, Andrea Schmitz and Petra von Hasselt were re-elected. The twelve-member advisory board supports the board in various association matters. This includes applications from families who need various forms of support for their child suffering from cancer, as well as funding for projects in pediatric and adolescent medicine at the Helios Klinikum Krefeld. “One focus of our work is the psychosocial support of children and their families, for example by adding variety to everyday hospital life, helping to finance material for the games department or organizing excursions to recover from strenuous therapy,” says Jens Schmitz. To this end, the association runs the “Villa Sonnenschein” – the parents’ house right next to the clinic. Parents of sick or premature children can live here if they have a long journey to the clinic, for example. In an emergency, you can be with your child in two minutes, even at night.
Looking ahead to 2020: “In the past year we were unable to make many offers because meetings with several people were not allowed. But we found other ways and pushed projects forward, ”said Jens Schmitz in his annual report. A highlight for the children – the visit to the clinic clowns – was relocated to the digital world without further ado: the friends’ association purchased an iPad, which the teachers from the play department used to go to the children’s beds.
The development association has put a lot of energy into improving the structural situation: After five years of operation, the “Villa Sonnenschein” in Krefeld had to be renovated. In addition, the “Villa Sonnenschein Anrath” was renovated. The house with two separate apartments belongs to the development association thanks to an inheritance from a generous testator. For example, parents whose children are in the clinic for therapy for a longer period of time live here. The “Villa Sonnenschein Sylt” was also completed in 2020. “We work together with the Sylt Clinic and can offer families with sick or healed children relaxation here. If the sick child’s situation suddenly worsens, medical experts are immediately available, ”says Karsten Körner, describing this field of work. The first families were able to take advantage of the offer in 2020.
In addition, donations were used as third-party funds to support treatment for the Helios Clinic or for the new sports therapy project for children with cancer or chronically ill children. A genetic test was carried out for a sick child via the “Aktion Teddybär” project, which even included relatives abroad. For the first time, the association organized a hiking weekend in Flachau for affected families last year. That should take place again in 2021.
“Of course, we also notice that the Corona has significantly reduced donations. We are all the more grateful to all donors who thought of us anyway “, says Jens Schmitz:” We are glad that we have found ways to support the families so desperately need. Many of our members come from affected families themselves; many have lost their children to cancer. It is therefore very important to us to support other affected people now, ”says Jens Schmitz. The sponsoring association is recognized as a non-profit organization and is entitled to issue donation receipts.
InfoKlick: www.krebskinder-krefeld.de
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