The two seating areas in the school playground in Oberkleen are set to become some of the most pleasant spots when the summer sun is at its full power at midday and in the afternoon. Until last year, several trees on the grounds provided shade so that the children could retreat there. But these had to be felled for safety reasons. "Without the canopy, the children play outside in the blazing sun," explains Andrea Eberhardt, Head of the Kids' Club.
Two facilities, the Spatzennest in Langgöns and the Kids Club in Oberkleen, belong to the organisation, which has been looking after primary school children outside of school hours for twenty years, daily between 7 am and 5 pm. The programme includes a shared lunch, help with homework, arts and crafts lessons and regular excursions. This service is also available during school holidays and provides relief for working parents in particular.
An expensive purchase
As a primary school pupil, the son of Eva Maria Kroll, who works in the local transport services department at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG), attended the Kids Club in Oberkleen. During this time, the SWG employee was involved as the first chairwoman of the Langgön primary school children's club. She is still in regular contact with the members, parents and carers. "This year, I learnt that the primary school and the association wanted to buy an awning for the seating area - but that the purchase would be quite expensive," explains Eva Maria Kroll. She therefore suggested supporting the kids' club and school with one of SWG's 75 good deeds in its anniversary year.
On Monday, 2 December, the SWG patron presented the symbolic donation cheque for a sunshade to Andrea Eberhardt and Silvana Calabrò-Folchert, the chairwoman of the association that looks after primary school children in Langgön. "Sun protection was high on our list of priorities for the coming year so that the children can once again spend time outside in the summer," emphasised the Chairwoman when handing over the cheque and thanked Stadtwerke Gießen together with the head of the facility. "SWG have really helped us with this good deed. We will hang up the new sun protection in the spring," explained Andrea Eberhardt.