Mühlacker, 14 December 2023 – Once again this year, Craiss Generation Logistik GmbH und Co KG will not be giving any generous customer gifts for Christmas. Instead, the logistics service provider is donating to Sterneninsel Kinder- und Jugendhospizdienst Pforzheim und Enzkreis e.V., a local and charitable initiative. The association provides assistance to families in which a child or parent has a life-threatening illness and supports children, adolescents and young adults when confronting the topic of death. Donations totalling €8,000 will be particularly used to provide (outpatient) bereavement counselling as well as training and further education for volunteers.
"With us, the 'Feast of Love‘ should not remain an empty phrase. With our Christmas donation this year, we want to help those for whom charity is vital – young people who either have a life-threatening illness themselves or have to deal with dying in some other way," says Michael Craiss, Managing Director of Craiss Generation Logistik GmbH & Co KG, as he explains this year's donation recipient - Sterneninsel Kinder- und Jugendhospizdienst Pforzheim und Enzkreis e. V. (Sterneninsel Children's and Youth Hospice Service Pforzheim and Enzkreis). Sterneninsel's employees offer attentive support to children with life-limiting illnesses, create opportunities for parents and siblings to recharge their batteries and provide advice on formalities.
However, Sterneninsel, like other organisations in the social sector, is affected by cutbacks and reduced support measures from health and care insurance companies. Thorsten Gieske, first chairman of Sterneninsel Kinder- und Jugendhospizdienst Pforzheim und Enzkreis e.V., explains: "Bereavement counselling, for example, is not supported financially at all. The area is exclusively supported by donations." Currently, 90 children, adolescents and young adults as well as 30 families receive hospice care in the bereavement area from six full-time employees and over 30 volunteers. Helping people in such a difficult situation is crucial, and thus Gieske and the association have been fighting for years to have this activity officially recognised. With Craiss' donations, we can guarantee the continued support of mourners – including on Sundays and public holidays. Furthermore, the donation partially finances the training and further education of volunteers. "Besides our full-time employees, we rely on the support of our volunteers to offer hospice and bereavement counselling to this extent," explains Gieske. Every year, volunteers are given a six-month training programme or receive further training through regular supervision and exchange meetings.