A charity auction, more than 500 works by local artists or 1,000 helping hands in the Offenburg region: For almost two weeks in November, Burda Direct and Reiff Medien collected donations for children with cancer, on behalf of the “Aenne Burda Charity”.

The result is something not to be ashamed of - the total sum amounts to € 100,000. Jürgen Siegloch, managing director of Burda Direct, and Reiff Medien’s Christian Kaufeisen handed a check to representatives of the University Hospital Freiburg’s Center for Tumor Biology and their support organization for children with cancer last Thursday.

“The main point for us was providing help and making a contribution. Given current developments, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to assume social responsibility. I am furthermore pleased that we have managed to establish the Aenne Burda Charity as one of the region’s major platforms for the arts,” according to Siegloch.

Adalbert Haege of the Center for Tumor Biology thanked all those involved and emphasized that donations would be used immediately to help cancer patients: “These funds will be applied to financing a palliative program to improve the quality of life of many patients.”

The support organization for children with cancer is going to expand the parents’ house next to the pediatric clinic. "Having their parents nearby is a great comfort to sick children and improves their prognosis considerably. The facility located right next to the hospital will soon be expanded to 73 beds. Operations cost € 30,000 a month and are funded by donations,” says executive director Bernd Rendler.