Gütersloh, 12/14/2023

Bertelsmann Again Donates €25,000 To ‘Der Weg nach Hause’ Initiative

Bertelsmann is once again supporting the Bielefeld-based initiative “Der Weg nach Hause” (The Way Home) with €25,000. Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe presented the donation check yesterday. Since 2006, €450,000 has been donated to the children’s palliative care team and the children’s hospice of the von Bodelschwingh Stiftungen Bethel foundation in Bielefeld.

For the 17th consecutive year, Bertelsmann is making a Christmas donation of €25,000 to the palliative care team ‘Der Weg nach Hause’ (The Way Home) and the children’s hospice of the v. Bodelschwingh Stiftungen Bethel, a Bielefeld-based foundation. As in previous years, Bertelsmann is foregoing Christmas gifts for its business partners this year.

At Bertelsmann’s Corporate Center, Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe presented a check to Dr. Rainer Norden, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of the v. Bodelschwingh Stiftungen Bethel foundation, Prof. Dr. Eckard Hamelmann, Director of the University Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the Bethel Children’s Center, and Dr. Peter Schürmann, Senior Physician of the outpatient palliative care team ‘Der Weg nach Hause’.

Expanding the social legal advice provided to families

“I have the greatest respect for the exemplary work that Prof. Hamelmann and Dr. Schürmann’s teams do every day,” said Thomas Rabe. “In addition to competent medical and nursing care, critically ill children first and foremost need the care and security of their families. The ‘Der Weg nach Hause’ initiative makes this possible. I am delighted that we have been able to make a contribution to this for so many years now with our Christmas donation.” Eckard Hamelmann explained: “The ongoing financial support from Bertelsmann helps us to keep providing children and young people and their families with the medical care, nursing, and support they need during this difficult time. The number of families requiring support in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region is rising all the time. This year, we will use the donation in particular to expand the social legal advice provided to families at home and at the Bethel children’s hospice.”

“Der Weg nach Hause” enables seriously ill children and adolescents with a limited life expectancy to receive outpatient treatment in the familiar and safe environment of their family home. The project thus combines specialized multi-professional care with the security of a familiar home environment. As in previous years, Thomas Rabe and his wife privately matched the Group’s donation. And so, since 2006, €450,000 have already been donated to the children’s palliative care team and the children’s hospice of the von Bodelschwingh Stiftungen Bethel foundation in Bielefeld.