KRASS e. V., whose founder Claudia Seidensticker was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia this year, is dedicating this year’s summer party with 80 invited guests entirely to the volunteers who are the main supporters of the association.
“Without civic engagement, our work would be unthinkable. We have biologists, musicians, cooks and graphic designers working for us, simply because they are enthusiastic about the cause,” says Seidensticker. Since the association has not received any institutional funding to date, despite numerous awards, the work of the volunteers is of the highest value.
“Around 20,000 children in Düsseldorf are considered poor. Many of them have difficult access to education, sports activities and meaningful leisure time activities that are also fun. This is where we come in!”, explains Seidensticker. Since 2009, numerous sponsors have supported KRASS in its mission to make cultural education, in the form of visual arts, song or dance, accessible to every child. Volunteers also shape the content of the offers, depending on their background.
Thus, the work of the association has not been limited to art and culture for a long time, but has expanded its spectrum, completely oriented towards the needs of the children: since Corona, there is also daily tutoring, hot meals, garden projects and even holiday programmes.
