Project info
Menschenskinder e.V.
founded: 2004
approx. 40 full-time and part-time employees
www.menschenskinder-darmstadt.de
Location: Darmstadt-Kranichstein
approx. 10,000 inhabitants from 80 nations
Project: Family days
approx. 5 events per half year
Average number of visitors: 25
Our sponsorship
Assumption of 90 % of the costs for 5 family days (total 3,600 €)
Funding period: 1st half of 2022
Carving, gardening, operating the pasta machine, pottery or felting: the “Family Days” are aimed at families with children of all ages.
In this low-threshold educational offering from the “Menschenskinder e. V.” association in Darmstadt-Kranichstein, children can try out and develop their skills with their parents in a workshop or outside in nature.
In fun and holistic learning, they experience a counterbalance to the often difficult or frustrating school experiences.
The project operator
Menschenskinder e.V. is a non-profit association with about 90 members, is a member of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtverband and a recognized provider of child and youth welfare. Since November 2012, the premises are located in Darmstadt-Kranichstein, a social area and “hot spot” with a wide range of cultures, family constellations, life contexts and educational backgrounds.
The work of Menschenskinder e.V. and its 40 permanent employees is largely supported by public and municipal funds.
The services offered include a day care center, Café Menschenskinder and the family center “Menschenskinder – Werkstatt für Familienkultur”. The family center is both an educational center and a meeting place for young people and their parents.
The family days
The Family Days are one-day events and are aimed at families with children of all ages. The focus is on providing informal, i.e. self-accessible, educational spaces for everyone and the opportunity to facilitate unconventional learning experiences.
This also creates a counterbalance to the often rather difficult or frustrating school experiences. Experiencing nature, creative work, following one’s own curiosity and the free development of one’s own ideas and possibilities are core themes of the family days.
Why we are committed to the project
With the Family Days, the Menschenskinder e.V. association creates exactly the environment and the spaces that, in our opinion, enable self-determined learning and experience. Projects such as carving or pasta making, which parents and children “work out” together with visible results, create a good basis for joyful togetherness. These experiences can have a positive impact on the relationship between parents and children and create a new image of cooperative education in the family.
With the family days, Menschenskinder e.V. offers especially children from educationally disadvantaged families an opportunity to gain experiences in a self-determined way and on their own initiative and to feel important and valuable.
Charlotte Weidenhammer of Menschenskinder e.V.:
Education is what we need to shape our lives so that we can all do well today and tomorrow. Education must make happiness possible. Education must be there for everyone.
Outlook
Within the framework of this first joint project, we will gain a detailed insight into the work of the association Menschenkinder e.V. in order to then decide how further cooperation can be arranged.
