Projects and activities for children and young people
With our creative projects for children, we are primarily active in the area of children's intensive care, for children who are seriously chronically ill or have life-shortened illnesses. We implement projects that are individually tailored to the needs of the children in the facility.
You can also find individual measures, health campaigns or support for violence prevention measures in the area of children and young people on this page.
Project “Darmstadt City Bear Home” (as of May 12, 2021)
After many months the time has come: the intensive care children of the bear family in Darmstadt can go out into the “city”.
A small, colorful city was created on their roof terrace, which we designed and built according to the needs of the care facility.
The seating area has become "a cozy park" where high-rise silhouettes serve as windbreaks while you listen to the babbling of a fountain or relax on the artificial turf. At the same time, the fountain (not in the picture) serves as a small water playground for the chronically ill children on warm summer days.
Colorfully painted car tires are reminiscent of “typical city traffic”. Filled with plants, they symbolize growth and movement. The tires can easily be converted into a small wheelchair park, which will really get things going!
“Have fun” is the motto of the big Minions, who were placed next to the sandbox in their blue work pants and with messy hair. They are definitely there when the children dig in the sand and spread a good mood throughout the terrace.
Is the compass direction correct on the signposts? - We do not know. But it feels right!
Multicultural and with a personal touch, they show the countries and cities of origin of the nursing staff. The Darmstadt Bear Family team was very happy about this!
We would like to thank everyone who supported the successful project with donations in kind, money or work!
Annual campaign 2021 (ended):
Happy Birthdays for a year!
Our club turned one year old in February 2021. We celebrated our first birthday with a very special event:
We donated birthday cakes for a year to people who can't celebrate their birthday at home because they don't have a home at that time!
The campaign ended at the turn of the year.
“Darmstadt City Bear Home”
Background report on the project work (May 13, 2021)
For over a year, the Bear Family's intensive care children have not been allowed to leave the facility because of the corona pandemic. A trip to the city or the park is not possible. Fresh air is only available when ventilating and far too rarely on the terrace. Because the terrace on the 5th floor doesn't seem very inviting. It is usually windy and when you look at the surrounding rooftops, everything appears gray and empty.
This should change. Our planning began in late summer 2020. First there was a discussion with the educational director to clarify which things were urgently needed, which elements could be used to promote development and what else in particular needed to be taken into account given the circumstances such as a wheelchair or ventilator.
Afterwards we continued with the Herzensache team (back then we were still allowed to meet!). What materials do we need? Where do we get them? Who takes care of what? Metal plates for a windbreak, car tires, paints, graffiti,...
Some things could be organized promptly, but then, due to lockdown and winter, the project had to be paused.
Things continued in spring 2021 under difficult conditions (one household plus one person). Car tires were painted, windbreaks were constructed, and other materials were purchased. Over 300 voluntary hours of work went into the project until it was set up.
The main part is now done. The terrace is inviting and spreads a good atmosphere among the nursing staff and children who can now finally go out again.
Special games for special children (as of February 26, 2021)
Today we would like to introduce our new creative project for seriously ill children: board games that you can play when you have to lie in bed. Lying in bed is meant literally, because we are talking about intensive care children who are so seriously, chronically ill that they cannot sit up without help.
These children are also affected by lock-down boredom and we would like to give them the opportunity to play board games with their carers. But how?
The children have a wide variety of impairments: some can only lie down, many cannot play dice, cannot grasp figures and most of them have impaired vision. In addition, the games must be disinfectable.
It does not work? There isn't!
We paint playing fields with large shapes and bright colors on a Din A 3 drawing pad. We laminate the game ideas so that they can be disinfected. The game is played with magnetic rings that the children can easily push instead of figures. The dice are rolled using an electronic tip button that displays colors or numbers. And the whole game can be placed on magnetic boards in the bed so that the games can be played lying down.
The first playing fields have already successfully passed the practical test and the children are having a lot of fun with them!
You can also support the campaign: Paint or draw a colorful board game on paper and send it to us (Herzenssache Odenwald eV, Bahnhofstr. 35, 64395 Brensbach). We are very excited about your creative ideas!
Healthy start to the day
for the primary school Wersau (Brensbach)
(30.01.2021)
The Wersau elementary school has been certified as a “health-promoting school” since 2012. Among other things, emphasis is placed on a healthy breakfast.
In order to promote a healthy start to the day in homeschooling, we are donating, with the support of Bio-Food direct GmbH, Coesam organic FiberBlue muesli to be distributed to all Wersau students.
The muesli is ready to eat in a portion cup and is called "FiberBlue" for a reason: a healthy additive (Coesam®) made from maqui berries, rose hips and Jerusalem artichoke colors the muesli blue.
This makes healthy eating even more fun!
Space for the “gang of bears”!
(August 2020)
The “bear gang” meets twice a week at the Darmstadt bear family. This is a special U3 group for intensive care children at the facility. Stories, relaxation rituals and movement games are specially adapted to children with complex disabilities. Interactions with children of the same age also promote social contact skills. This is all the work of the educators on site.
We think that's great and would like to give the bear gang a permanent crawling and play area with 12 m2 of floor mats! Have fun with it and we wish you continued success!
Project
“Darmstadt City Bears Home”
For most people, the lockdown this year was not pleasant. Little out, little contact and those who experienced quarantine definitely felt more restricted than everyone else.
What is almost over for many of us is still sad everyday life for the intensive care children of the Darmstadt Bear Family.
Due to their chronic illnesses, most of which are permanently ventilated using devices, the children belong to a particularly vulnerable risk group. Therefore, they cannot leave their care station on the 5th floor for a long time.
Fortunately, the children at least have a roof terrace where they can go outside. We find it sad that the terrace looks just as gray and boring as the surrounding roofs.
We want to change that and redesign the terrace in a creative and colorful way for the bear children.
Our project team came up with windbreaks in the design of houses, a sandpit as a construction site, a mini park with fountains, colorfully planted car tires, graffiti and much more to convey the joy of life of a cheerful, lively big city!
This means the children can go on vacation at home in the big, colorful world, or at least spend a few nice hours.
For us it's now time to get involved! Because all the happy ideas cannot be bought ready-made, but have to be built and colorfully painted by the club members themselves.
Of course, we need a lot of material for this (sheet metal, paint, tires, etc.). We rely on donations. Please bring a little joy of life to the “Darmstadt City Bären Home” and support us with a donation in kind or money that we can use for the project.
PS: Small donations also help. For example, we can buy another colorful color for about €6.50...
Helper deployment August 15, 2020
Our helpers are at the start in a Darmstadt care facility:
Put on your face mask,... disinfect your hands,... get to work!
The goal: the bamboo has to go.
Care? Mouthguard? Bamboo? How does that fit together?
Briefly explained: In the care facility, it is not plants but children that are cared for. And so it happened that the actually easy-care bamboo that once provided greenery on the terrace died.
That in itself is not a reason for us to take action. But what happens when the bamboo that dies starts to rot? Before a health problem arises for the children, the bamboo has to go!
Removing the bamboo is no easy task and strict hygiene regulations apply within the facility. That's why the facility turned to us and we're happy to help.
We are also collecting ideas for easy-care, educational use of the empty plant pots. You'll soon find out which creative project will result...
