On Thursday the children's hospice St. Nikolaus in Memmingen was happy about an unexpected money blessing that came in. The Langenargen-based company Aguti Produktentwicklung & Design GmbH, has presented a symbolic cheque for 10,000 euros to the blessed facility. "In the course of our 25th company anniversary celebrations, we asked our guests to donate money into the "Golden Piglet" instead of making donations in kind. The outcome overwhelmed us, we are very happy about the result", said Iris Grieger from Aguti in an interview with the Schwäbische Zeitung.
The Langenargen-based company Aguti has been supporting social projects for many years, including the St. Nikolaus children's hospice in Memmingen. For Andreas Grieger and his wife Iris, who both built-up the company together, this is a matter close to their hearts: "We cannot thank our business partners, friends and employees enough for their great support. With this campaign, we not only want to help, but also want to appeal to other companies to give up gifts in kind for company anniversaries or similar occasions, and instead support social projects or institutions," emphasizes Iris Grieger.
Brigitte Waltl-Jensen, press officer of the hospice, explains how important monetary donations are for St. Nikolaus: "We need around one million euros a year to keep everything going here, so most of our work is financed by donations. With the 10,000 euros, we can provide targeted support for the affected families in our hospice, which of course makes us very happy. Not only the ill children are the focus of our attention, but also every single member of the family counts here". In contrast to adult hospices, so Waltl-Jensen, the whole family is accompanied already from the diagnosis of an incurable and life-shortening disease, and not only in the last phase of life.
As the press spokeswoman further explained, the care of their ill children often takes parents to the limits of their physical and psychological resilience, because they are working day and night for their loved one, with the result that everyday life is oriented towards the illness and the needs of the child concerned. "We are blessed that there are houses like the St. Nikolaus children's hospice. The relief, the granting of rest and free spaces, that leeway to the everyday stress, but also the personal encouragement as well as the care on the part of the nursing staff are so very important", reports Iris Grieger. The children's hospice has been in existence for 11 years, where eight families can spend an average of 10 days a year and are accompanied by around 55 employees, including between 25 and 30 nursing specialists. "Letting go and catching your breath, meeting people who have to live through similar fates, to talk about it all, is what families see it as a gift, which we are very happy about," the two dedicated ladies know, who would be happy if more companies would follow this unconventional donation path in the future. "Anyone who is also interested in working in the St. Nikolaus children's hospice or who would like to support us in any other way is more than welcome to contact us," appeals Brigitte Waltl-Jensen. More information is available under
