IT'S NOT HARD to make the world a better place

"Civic engagement has many faces - every single one of them counts. I am grateful to every citizen who works for the common good of our city of Kassel. It takes people who show compassion and commitment, especially for the smallest in our society. The association "Dentists and Patients Help Children in Need" does this in a special way. With several projects in Kassel and the surrounding area, a lot of good has been done so far. Whether therapy support, charity barbecues or charity races - here the association helps with all its heart, supports with donations and makes unforgettable experiences possible for the smallest ones. For 30 years now, the association has been caring for children, young people and families who find themselves in particularly difficult situations. I look back too and know how difficult it can be sometimes - and how enormously important every helping hand is. They make a particularly important contribution that we should all do our best to support. That's why I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has volunteered over the years and continues to do so."

(Foto: Laurence Chaperon)

"Civic engagement has many faces - every single one of them counts. I am grateful to every citizen who works for the common good of our city of Kassel. It takes people who show compassion and commitment, especially for the smallest in our society. The association "Dentists and Patients Help Children in Need" does this in a special way. With several projects in Kassel and the surrounding area, a lot of good has been done so far. Whether therapy support, charity barbecues or charity races - here the association helps with all its heart, supports with donations and makes unforgettable experiences possible for the smallest ones. For 30 years now, the association has been caring for children, young people and families who find themselves in particularly difficult situations. I look back too and know how difficult it can be sometimes - and how enormously important every helping hand is. They make a particularly important contribution that we should all do our best to support. That's why I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has volunteered over the years and continues to do so."

You don't have to go far afield to meet people in need of help. The members of the association "Dentists and Patients Help Children in Need" are mainly interested in helping children who have got into difficulties in this country. The spectrum of problems ranges from serious health hazards to severe social bottlenecks, for which institutional help is usually not available. Children are among the weakest in our society, but at the same time they are the guarantee for a better future for all of us. The prerequisite for this is, of course, that they can grow up and mature healthily, happily and with the education they need. For a variety of reasons, the necessary prerequisites are often lacking. Dentists not only heal, they also like to help. This is expressed, for example, in numerous international aid projects of the German dental profession. But even in our immediate neighborhood, a helping hand is often missing. In solidarity with their patients, the dentists therefore embrace the cause of the Kassel Association to provide urgently needed support to children and adolescents. The exemplary and admirable public spirit demonstrated by the association and its volunteers ultimately benefits not only the children who receive support, but all of us.

Civic engagement has always been a hallmark of Kassel. Our city thrives on the participation of its citizens. Particularly in our everyday lives, we are constantly challenged in our commitment to our fellow human beings and to the well-being of our city. Because it depends on each and every one of us how Kassel develops, both on a small and a large scale. Each of us can make a contribution so that Kassel remains lovable and worth living in. The association "Dentists and Patients Help Children in Need" is an excellent example of this. I am always pleased when I hear or read about your projects and the many targeted individual cases of help. In the best sense of the word, they are proof of civic commitment and public spirit. You intervene to help where the state and municipal options are insufficient or exhausted. Their concrete help encourages those affected and does not leave them alone. Whether it is a question of providing funds to a youth group for the purchase of a multimedia PC for the editing of self-made films or music recordings, whether you support the extraordinarily successful Kassel Youth Film Prize, or enable a day care center to equip a therapy room for handicapped children: you are always there when your support is needed. Through your support, you have not only closed gaps, you have also brought about creativity and innovation. I would like to sincerely thank all the members of the association and the numerous sponsors. I wish you continued success in your efforts to do good for children in need.

It all started with the good idea of a responsible and courageous citizen from Kassel. In the meantime, the association "Zahnärzte und Patienten helfen Kindern in Not e. V." (Dentists and Patients Help Children in Need) has been supporting children and young people in difficult life situations for over 15 years with the collection of dental gold and other donations, but especially through the great voluntary commitment of its members. The list of projects that could be realized is long and documents a great success story of civic engagement in our city. Many important projects could only be implemented with the support and initiative of the association "Zahnärzte und Patienten helfen Kindern in Not e. V.". This also applies to the support of many children and families with difficult individual fates, whose quality of life could be noticeably and sustainably improved through the help of the association. Concrete help, but also the large and important area of prevention work with children and young people could be realized or further expanded in 2006 through the support of the association. I am pleased that the association once again succeeded in an exemplary manner in working together with schools and existing youth and disability welfare facilities. Last but not least, this also applies to the cooperation with the Kassel city administration. Last year alone, more than €19,000 was made available for projects in the field of child and youth welfare. The activity report for 2006 presented here documents a current excerpt from the success story of the association. I am convinced that the association "Zahnärzte und Patienten helfen Kindern in Not e. V." (Dentists and Patients Help Children in Need) will continue its work successfully in the coming years and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all volunteers, supporters and donors for their great and sustained civic commitment to children and young people in our city and far beyond its borders.