Christmas donation for children and young people

The TITK Group Rudolstadt made two Christmas donations of 1,000 euros this year. The recipients are the local youth association „Jugendförerverein Saalfeld-Rudolstadt e.V.“ and the „Fürstin-Anna-Luisen“ school in Bad Blankenburg. TITK Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer (3rd from left), Headmistress Antje Wennrich-Wydra (4th from left), Association Managing Director Isabel Weimann (5th from left) and youth worker Dirk Ortloff met in Bad Blankenburg for the symbolic handover in the presence of pupils from the special school. (Image rights: OMPG / Steffen Beikirch)

As a non-profit association and recognized independent youth welfare organization, the „Jugendförderverein Saalfeld-Rudolstadt e. V.“ has been active throughout the district since 1992. Currently, 18 men and women work in the areas of mobile youth work, school social work, follow-up youth court assistance, games and media education as well as outpatient educational assistance. The 1,000 euro donation from TITK and the two associated companies OMPG and smartpolymer is intended to benefit mobile youth work in rural areas in particular. The association provides this work in the administrative communities of Schwarzatal and Schiefergebirge, the municipalities of Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel, Unterwellenborn, Kaulsdorf, Hohenwarte, Drognitz, Altenbeuthen and the towns of Leutenberg and Königsee.

The team also regularly organizes summer vacation camps and individual activities at the Hohenwarte reservoir. “Such offers with sporting activities and a fun factor are always very well received by the children and young people,” reports youth worker Dirk Ortloff. The donation will be used to add two more inflatable stand-up paddle boards to the existing small “fleet”. “This means we can now adjust the group size to the capacity of our vans for our activities on the Thuringian Sea and provide each participant with a board, which unfortunately wasn't always possible before,” says a delighted Isabel Weimann, Managing Director of the association.

Sport, games and active leisure activities are also an integral part of everyday life at „Fürstin-Anna-Luisen“ school Bad Blankenburg. More than 70 girls and boys receive individual support at the state-recognized special school, which is part of the Diakonie Foundation Weimar - Bad Lobenstein, particularly with regard to their mental development. Despite individual limitations, the aim is to enable pupils to achieve the greatest possible independence. To this end, the teaching staff supplement the educational work with numerous therapies and sports activities. “We also take part in many different competitions throughout the year and are very active here,” emphasizes principal Antje Wennrich-Wydra.
For this reason, the donation will be used to purchase new functional sportswear. “This is important for our pupils, especially those from socially disadvantaged homes,” says Wennrich-Wydra. New clothing can also spur them on to perform even better. And it definitely promotes team spirit: “With our school's lettering, it creates a great sense of community when we appear in public.”