The donation from Anton Paar will allow children from disadvantaged families to receive free tutoring and after-school care.
Anton Paar has donated €15,000 to Lerncafé Gries, a charitable organisation based in Graz (Austria) that supports children and young people from disadvantaged families by providing free tutoring and after-school services. The company has been regularly donating to the association since 2019. As a result, every day up to twenty-six children and teenager between the ages of 6 and 15 receive free homework and learning support.
“Supporting children and young people from socially disadvantaged families is an affair of the heart. Enabling girls and boys to receive education means shaping the future of our society. Out of this responsibility, we are glad that such institutions as the Lerncafé of Caritas exist and that we are able to support them,” has stated Friedrich Santner.
The focus at the Lerncafé is on completing homework and studying for tests and schoolwork, but various activities also take place apart from the daily school routine, such as crafting, painting and playing. The children and teenagers learn to trust in their own abilities, which increases their enjoyment of learning. They acquire social skills and receive support in their personal development. Diversity with different cultures and religions is lived in appreciative interaction with one another.
“Lerncafé Gries is a place for learning and living, where young people from precarious life situations are given a perspective. We are grateful for the trust and generous support. We see ourselves as reference persons in all questions of life. Of course, school aspects are the main focus, but the last few years have shown that this is only possible if the social and emotional needs of the children are also perceived and find an appropriate space. On behalf of all the children and our team, I would like to say thank you for the generous support. This valuable contribution enables us to continue our work – our mission of imparting knowledge and education to young people,” has commented Eva Hödl, the director of Lerncafé Gries.