Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) is supporting the work of the association for home nursing and care for the elderly in Allendorf/Lumda with 2,000 euros - the third highlight of the 75 good deeds in SWG's anniversary year.
Demographic change is one of the most significant challenges of the coming decades - especially in rural areas. "We are faced with the fact that more and more people need comprehensive care or are no longer able to organise their everyday lives completely independently within their own four walls. Our aim is to enable these senior citizens to continue living in their familiar home environment in old age," explains Ernst-Jürgen Bernbeck, First Councillor of the town of Allendorf/Lumda and Chairman of the Association for Domestic Nursing and Elderly Care. The organisation has been caring for people in need within the community since 1986. Currently, 10 employees - including eight nurses and geriatric nurses as well as a housekeeper - look after more than 50 people in Allendorf and the districts of Nordeck, Winnen and Climbach. Volunteers also look after dementia patients once a week under expert guidance. Ernst-Jürgen Bernbeck emphasises: "People in the individual towns appreciate our work and know what we stand for."
Rainer Müller from the metering and measurement department at Stadtwerke Gießen is also familiar with the association. He speaks for most of the residents of Allendorf/Lumda: "It's incredibly important that we have a service like this - professional help directly on site that older people can fall back on. The association enables sick and elderly people to continue living in their social environment and maintain a certain quality of life." In Rainer Müller's opinion, this commitment deserves support. Not least because the amounts provided by health insurance companies are often not enough to cover care services. What is lacking is financed by the Association for Home Nursing and Care for the Elderly through donations. When looking for SWG's 75 good deeds in its anniversary year, the SWG employee therefore suggested helping the charitable organisation.
Marksmanship for a good cause
During the SWG district cup on Whit Monday in Allendorf/Lumda, Stadtwerke organised a goal wall shooting competition and donated one euro to the association for home nursing and care for the elderly for every goal scored. This allowed visitors to the tournament and the active footballers to help raise the sum. "Most of them took even more precise measurements than usual. The result is impressive," said Rainer Müller after the end of the goal wall campaign. SWG rounded up the total to 2,000 euros. Shortly before the final match, the Stadtwerke employee presented the donation cheque to Ernst-Jürgen Bernbeck, Dieter Klaas, Karl Heinrich Imig and Ulrich Krieb, all board members of the Association for Domestic Nursing and Elderly Care. The four thanked him for his support and assured him that a commitment like SWG's was important for the region in order to master future challenges such as demographic change.