Supporting Childhood and Youth Projects: an Opportunity for Tomorrow

Taking responsibility, promoting equal opportunities, and shaping the future. These three values are central to STILL’s community engagement work and are embodied in our long-term support for three Hamburg social projects local to us. These projects are committed to promoting equal access for children and young people to education and culture as well as improving social integration. We support their non-profit work by donating 5000 euros to each project every year, along with various other activities. In doing so, we help disadvantaged people gain career insights and access culture more easily, and also give them the chance to fulfill their potential.

Produktionsschule Wilhelmsburg: Helping People at the Start of their Career

The Produktionsschule Wilhelmsburg school is a vocational education institution where young people with little or no educational qualifications can prepare for apprenticeships and vocational training opportunities. STILL has supported the Hamburg project since 2020. The project provides preparatory vocational training in professions such as carpentry, catering, retail, and hairdressing. The carpentry workshop, for example, fulfills an extensive range of construction and furniture orders for customers, while also designing and producing its own unique products to put on sale. Students therefore learn how to approach and carry out commissions, as well as honing their business abilities and developing new practical skills. In addition, the school helps students obtain their general school leaving qualifications, teaches them fundamental academic skills, and addresses ongoing social issues. Pupils also receive socio-educational support to prepare them for successful and long-lasting careers. In addition to providing financial support, STILL also works together with the school to offer work placements, factory tours, and even apprenticeships.

The Mittagskinder Foundation: Support for Disadvantaged Children

Sitting down together for a family meal is a rare occurrence for some children in Hamburg. The Mittagskinder foundation exists to offer these children a safe place to come and eat hot meals, chat and play with other children, and be looked after by caregivers. STILL has supported the foundation for over twelve years now. The foundation was established in 2004 and focuses on promoting healthy nutrition, child-friendly exercise, and the “Bildungsimpulse” education program, which is based on UNESCO’s four pillar education model. It supports two projects in socially challenging neighborhoods in Hamburg—Kirchdorf-Süd and Neuwiedenthal—and provides more than 200 children aged five to twelve with free meals and socio-educational support from qualified specialists.

Kultur Palast Foundation: Music is for Everyone

In outlying districts of Hamburg such as Billstedt, there is often a shortage of opportunities for disadvantaged people, particularly children and adolescents, to easily access culture and education. The Kultur Palast foundation is working tirelessly to improve this situation and to make culture more accessible to a broader audience. For more than 40 years, the foundation has been committed to enabling cultural participation for everyone and promoting young talent in Billstedt, throughout Hamburg, and abroad. The foundation employs approximately 70 people and in 2021 put on 230 events, group programs, and courses. Almost 100,000 children and adolescents have benefited from this easy access to culture. The work of the Kultur Palast foundation is truly varied and includes everything from ‘Klangstrolche’ music workshops for young children, metal concerts at the Kultur Palast’s venue, a hip-hop academy, and cabaret performances. STILL has supported the foundation in promoting cultural life in Billstedt since 2017.