Umicore donates €21,000 to regional initiatives

Support for children, families, and people in need in Hanau

This year, Umicore is once again supporting charitable organizations in the Hanau region with a Christmas donation totaling €21,000. The company is supporting the Albert Schweitzer Children's Village in Hanau, Sterntaler e.V., and Friends and Sponsors of Lamboy-Tümpelgarten. The donation is intended to send a message of hope during the Christmas season and help people in difficult situations receive support.

"Our commitment to society is firmly anchored in our corporate culture. Especially during the Christmas season, we want our donation to make a tangible contribution to supporting local initiatives that help people in our region in a variety of ways. It is important to us to strengthen the work of these institutions, secure their projects in the long term, and thus provide a positive impetus for the community," emphasized Dr. Bernhard Fuchs, CEO of Umicore AG & Co. KG, at the handover of the donations.

Part of the donation comes from the proceeds of the traditional Umicore Christmas market, which is organized annually by employees at the Hanau site.

Support for families

As an independent youth welfare organization, Albert-Schweitzer-Kinderdorf Hessen e. V. (ASK) offers comprehensive support for children and young people in difficult life situations. Its services include inpatient, day care, and outpatient assistance. "Between global crises and price increases, growing media consumption, and stressful school life, families with children are coming under increasing pressure. Conflict and violence in families are increasing at an alarming rate. This makes it all the more important that we, as a youth welfare organization, are able to continue successful programs such as multi-family therapy (MFT) in the future. We are infinitely grateful to Umicore for supporting us in this endeavor with their generous donation," said Susanne Högler, Head of Public Relations at ASK.

MFT involves working with six to eight families at the same time. The primary goal of MFT is to improve children's development by activating and expanding parental resources. This is achieved by families learning from each other in a group setting. This group program is run by MFT trainers from Albert-ASK, who are specially trained for this purpose at the organization's in-house training facility. “Umicore gives us the planning security we need to continue offering the complex MFT success concept in the future,” said Högler.

Comfort in difficult moments

For over three decades, the Sterntaler e.V. support association has been working with great commitment  on behalf of the children's clinic at the Hanau Hospital. This year, Umicore is supporting the association's work with a donation that will be used for the comprehensive renovation of the children's hospital's farewell room. This room offers relatives the opportunity to say goodbye to their child in a dignified and comforting environment—a moment that is invaluable for coping with grief.

“In November, we will completely renovate the hospital's farewell room. The aim is to create a dignified, comforting setting for those who are grieving during the difficult moment of saying goodbye,” explained Martina Buschbeck, 2nd chair of the association. Together with 1st chair Christina Sünder-Kühn, she emphasized how important the support of companies such as Umicore is.

Support for people in need in Lamboy-Tümpelgarten

The Friends and Supporters of Lamboy-Tümpelgarten Association is also receiving a donation from Umicore. The association supports around 250 children and young people from low-income families as well as numerous elderly people with limited financial resources in the Lamboy-Tümpelgarten district. In addition, the association provides social and hardship funds for daycare centers and elementary schools to help in acute emergencies and to promote the participation and education of children.

“High energy and food prices continue to hit these people hard, making Umicore's reliable support for our association all the more important for the people in our district. A big thank you to Umicore and its employees,” emphasized chairman Axel Weiss-Thiel, his deputy Anne-Dorothea Stübing, and treasurer Wulf Falkowski.