Dear friends of „die Arche“,
because of your great support and help, we were able to achieve a lot in the past year!
We were able to welcome 3.900 new children and young people to our facilities and establish valuable relationships with them.
230.000 hot meals were distributed in our "Archen" or in the form of food parcels to needy children and their families.
Every month, 4.200 children and young people received virtual and on site support with their homework and tutoring from our employees and numerous volunteers.
7.200 children, young people and needy parents received urgently needed clothes and shoes from our clothing stores, also called "Schatzkiste".
And in addition to that, numerous summer camps, hundreds of excursions, creative leisure activities, parent talks, children's parties and much more have taken place week after week in our „Archen“!
THANK YOU!
None of this would have been possible without your support!
We want to say THANK YOU for your loyal commitment to the children and young people of „die Arche“! THANK YOU for your donation and versatile support! THANK YOU for working with us for more equal opportunities!
Thank you for everything!
Your Arche-Team
Links:
“What I like about ‘Die Arche’ is that I can do so much here – play football, learn to play the guitar or do handcrafts. I like to romp around in the ball pool. There is always someone around and here is just so much great stuff to play with.”
Even before Corona, war and inflation, the financial situation in families was tense and there was hardly any money for hobbies or leisure activities. Trips to a trampoline park, to the cinema or to the swimming hall, many of our Arche kids do not know any of this. Learning an instrument or going to a sports club – impossible for most.
In times when even a warm lunch is becoming a luxury for these families, it is more important that the children in our different locations can gain positive experiences and develop their potential. We see a lot of enthusiasm for new things blooming in our young guests every day. We discover unused talents that absolutely must be encouraged. In this way, the kids and teens can broaden their own horizons and ultimately hopefully escape the spiral of poverty. Only if we invest in the children now, there is a chance of positively changing their future situation.
In “Die Arche” they can learn new things in a playful way, forget everyday life, discover unexpected talents and be completely a child - carefree and undisturbed.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. It is a valuable help in this and all other projects, which we appreciate very much. May God bless you!
Links:
The rising costs of food and energy is affecting many of our Arche families and we have to support more and more of them. The main victims of this time are the children, who grow up in a time marked by fears for the future. Covid, war in Europe, inflation, one crisis follows the next. Now it is even more important to be by their side. Within this difficult time it is a ray of hope that we have been able to open a new Ark in Rostock.
We will make every effort to distribute food to our families in need, support them with their homework, organize summer camps, sports and play activities and above all, be there for them and listen to them when they need someone to talk.
We do not give up hope even though we are facing tough challenges at the moment, but we know that our fight is going in the right direction. Summer is just around the corner, and it is getting lighter and warmer - which is good for the soul. Many summer camps are just around the corner and our children are very excited to get out of school and make amazing holiday experiences.
We want to bring love and encouragement to our Arche children, families and Ukrainian refugees who are coming to our centers. Thank you that you are standing with us! Your support motivates us to continue building up the people who are entrusted to us. May God bless you!
Links:
The year started out with a glimmer of hope after two years of covid crisis and then all of a sudden a new fearsome crisis is looming.
Thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children are seeking refuge from the war in their homeland. Across Germany and on our site in Poland, we are helping them at our sites with water, hot meals, food donations, and clothing. Children and families can also take advantage of Arche's daily childcare services. Meanwhile, the cost of living continues to rise. Once again, the poorest are hit the hardest.
Anxiety is growing among our children that I have not seen before. In many families, the struggle is tremendous. Food and energy prices are skyrocketing high, affecting our Ark families severely. In addition, however, the fear of war is now growing. We are trying to answer all their questions, to comfort and support them. But where will this all lead us to?
In our Arche centers, we accept clothing, toys, and hygiene articles to give to the refugees from Ukraine who come to us. They can not speak our language and are standing in front of us with even more fears. We communicate with the help of translation software, offer support to parents and children in all kinds of areas, and we realize that the need will become even greater. For the Ukrainian women, we have therefore additionally created a daily breakfast and conversation offer to support them emotionally and practically.
Over and over this motivating Bible verse comes to mind, "Fear not." It gives me confidence. The confidence of being on the right path. We seem to stumble from one crisis to another, from one challenge to the next - but we simply must not give up. A six-year-old Ukrainian girl beamed when she received a toy from us. For a few seconds, she was able to forget about her hard situation. An eleven-year-old boy fell into my arms after he could not come to the Ark for several weeks due to corona. He was incredibly happy to finally be able to visit his second home again. A single mother, herself in great difficulties, asked me, "You are always in the current events. What can I help with now?" So much need, but also so much charity and solidarity motivate us to continue. Even if it is not so easy financially at the moment. But we are not afraid of the future. People trust us, people accompany us and people support us. There is a war raging in Europe, but we want to bring hope and love despite everything. Thank you for supporting us in these hard times!
Links:
Towards the end of the year, even more kids than usual are visiting our Ark centers. December for most families is a time of gifts, Christmas parties, and festive traditions. But for our children, it is not only a time of pleasant anticipation and exciting gifts. But one in which little financial and other resources or lack of attention at home are more noticeable than usual. Therefore it is even more important for the children to have a safe place like the Ark.
Up and down the country, preparations for Christmas are in full swing at our locations. Cookies are baked, gingerbread houses are built, Advent wreaths are made and, Christmas parties are planned. Fortunately, the situation is not comparable to last year. But although there won’t be a lockdown again, the corona pandemic still casts a shadow over Christmas 2021. It remains hard to plan events and, certain precautions are still essential.
But all our Christmas parties for the kids and their families will take place. A few of our ark centers will have outdoor Christmas markets with yummy food, a bonfire, and a small stage with creative performances organized by the children. Besides the Christmas parties, many other activities are planned. A carriage ride, cinema afternoons, singing Christmas carols, and ice skating will be some of our planned activities.
A huge highlight was St. Nicholas Day on the 6th of December. On that day, we visited all our kids at home and gave out St. Nicholas gifts to each child in every Ark city. It was a wonderful day!
Thank you so much for your gracious and continuous support!
We wish you and your family Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Links:
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
We'll only email you new reports and updates about this project.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
Make a monthly donation & get 
