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NewsletterDeutsche Kinderhilfe is a German children’s aid society. We sponsor children’s projects nationwide, without any funding from the government. We are an independent voice for children, and help foster their cause and shepherd relevant legislative processes.
Holger Klinz and Frank Hippen, highly committed parents and entrepreneurs, made a big donation and established this society in the year 2000. Based on their analysis of the market, Holger and Frank chose to set up this non-profit organization, and dedicated it to efficiently serving the needs of sick and disadvantaged children in Germany.
Holger Klinz and Frank Hippen, highly committed parents and entrepreneurs, made a big donation and established this society in the year 2000. Based on their analysis of the market, Holger and Frank chose to set up this non-profit organization, and dedicated it to efficiently serving the needs of sick and disadvantaged children in Germany.
DKH essentially began by supporting other institutions, organizations, and voluntary activities, becoming involved directly only if there was no other option. This saves administrative costs, while letting us combine available expertise ideally. We find sponsors for specific projects and publicize the activities of small societies and organizations.
The board interacts with its council of experts to jointly rule on the disbursement of funds, thus ensuring that we provide these only for truly therapeutic tasks that make sense. Since we are independent, we consciously forego government funding and instead concentrate only on donations from our citizens. All the money goes directly to benefit sick and disadvantaged children.
The board interacts with its council of experts to jointly rule on the disbursement of funds, thus ensuring that we provide these only for truly therapeutic tasks that make sense. Since we are independent, we consciously forego government funding and instead concentrate only on donations from our citizens. All the money goes directly to benefit sick and disadvantaged children.
We have since shifted our focus to
publicity and lobbying on a national scale. Our aim is to transform the
public mindset into a children friendly society that freely supports
such important projects. Many of us are probably not even aware of how
disgraceful the situation truly is: more than 150 children die annually
as a consequence of violence and maltreatment in Germany alone!
These days, one must lobby at the pan-European level to further the interests of children in Germany. We can combat problems like child pornography only by joining forces across Europe and the world. But we can be proud of the fact that the EU is a pioneer in the campaign to protect children from the harmful effects of smoking, and its legislature a role model for Member States. We opened our DKH office in Brussels early on in 2009, since it is critical to intensify the dialog and information exchange at the European level.
These days, one must lobby at the pan-European level to further the interests of children in Germany. We can combat problems like child pornography only by joining forces across Europe and the world. But we can be proud of the fact that the EU is a pioneer in the campaign to protect children from the harmful effects of smoking, and its legislature a role model for Member States. We opened our DKH office in Brussels early on in 2009, since it is critical to intensify the dialog and information exchange at the European level.
To succeed for our children, we must raise the ante for the public –
just like Greenpeace did in the environmental arena. Therefore, one of
our decisive goals is to mobilize the public on a broad front and bring
as many sponsors as possible on board. Politicians do count the number
of potential votes. Talking about promoting one’s interests, it would
be remiss to dismiss the influence of ADAC with a membership of 16
million, or that of over 1.2 million members of environmental
organizations in Germany. Unfortunately, over 14 million children in
Germany are just not that lucky – because all of the children’s aid
societies combined have far fewer than 100,000 members!
Our local society in North Rhine Westphalia utilizes information stands and the backing of the national society to inform the public via the media. In 2008, a survey showed that TV stations broadcast reports on our activities 91 times. Among these were six reports in ARD’s Tagesschau, Tagesthemen, and Nachtmagazin (various news programs) that reached almost 18% of the viewers per broadcast. Nine reports appeared in RTL Aktuell and Mittagsjournal (also news programs) for a viewer reach of up to 23%, while seven of ZDF’s reports in heute (news program) drew the attention of almost 18% of viewers. What this means is that we reach almost 90 million viewers via TV! Even more impressive is the fact that in addition to the print and online media, news agencies like dpa and ddp, in particular, published a total of 181 articles that solidly entrenched us as the voice of Germany.
Our local society in North Rhine Westphalia utilizes information stands and the backing of the national society to inform the public via the media. In 2008, a survey showed that TV stations broadcast reports on our activities 91 times. Among these were six reports in ARD’s Tagesschau, Tagesthemen, and Nachtmagazin (various news programs) that reached almost 18% of the viewers per broadcast. Nine reports appeared in RTL Aktuell and Mittagsjournal (also news programs) for a viewer reach of up to 23%, while seven of ZDF’s reports in heute (news program) drew the attention of almost 18% of viewers. What this means is that we reach almost 90 million viewers via TV! Even more impressive is the fact that in addition to the print and online media, news agencies like dpa and ddp, in particular, published a total of 181 articles that solidly entrenched us as the voice of Germany.