Birthday donations: Albert Berner Foundation celebrates 30th anniversary and distributes generous gifts

"For me, it was always clear that I wanted to give something back for all the good things that have happened to my family and me," says Albert Berner. In addition to the family's private commitment and the social activities carried out by the BERNER Group at its subsidiaries throughout Europe, the entrepreneur established a foundation in 1995. Just like its founder, who turned 90 in July, the non-profit organization is celebrating a milestone birthday this year. To mark its 30th anniversary, there are generous gifts – which many local institutions can look forward to receiving.

During a ceremony at the company location in Garnberg, Künzelsau, Ursula Berner, chairwoman of the foundation's board, handed over the keys to a new vehicle to the Künzelsau social welfare center (“Diakoniestation”). The Skoda Fabia Essence, worth more than €20,000, is already the eleventh car that the Albert Berner Foundation has donated to the outpatient care service for its fleet. "This gives us the urgently needed mobility to be there quickly and reliably for our clients in the region," explains managing director Daniel Eisemann. "Every minute counts, especially in mobile care, and the new car allows us to bring the necessary help directly to where it is needed. On behalf of our team and all those who benefit from our work, I would like to express my sincere thanks. I am very pleased that we can count on the reliable support of the Albert Berner Foundation."

Since its establishment in 1995, the Albert Berner Foundation has donated more than €2 million to local institutions, clubs and associations in the fields of social welfare, education, culture and sport. In addition to flagship projects such as the St. Elisabeth Hospice and the Hohenlohe Women's and Children's Shelter, there are many long-term funding partnerships (e.g. the Künzelsau food bank and the Albert Schweitzer Children's Village in Waldenburg).

Commitment to sport

"We are very grateful that the Albert Berner Foundation and the BERNER Group have supported us repeatedly over many years with monetary and material donations," reports Erwin Bergmann, board member of the local gymnastics’ association KTV Hohenlohe. "It is only with the help of sponsors like these that we can create professional framework conditions, including a full-time base coach, while keeping the cost contribution for parents low enough that every child who enjoys gymnastics and has the necessary talent can participate. Without the annual support of the Albert Berner Foundation, the sporting progress and visibility of artistic and apparatus gymnastics in the ‘Kochertal’ would not have been possible to the extent that it has been."

Cultural commitment

Together with the Sparkasse Hohenlohekreis and the Rotary Club Künzelsau-Öhringen, the foundation has been organizing an annual charity concert with different artists for more than two decades. All proceeds are donated in their full amount to a charitable cause each time. In addition, the foundation regularly supports cultural projects specifically for young people, including the Künzelsau Youth Music School. "Ursula Berner feels a need to promote music among children in our city and region, and it's fair to say that she is a friend of the youth music school," says director Jürgen Koch. "The Albert Berner Foundation has supported us with donations of over €50,000 in recent years. This has enabled us to purchase instruments for the wind and string classes and to launch the JEKISS singing project, which in German stands for 'Every child has a voice'. As a result, the number of pupils at our school has almost doubled. We are extremely grateful to the Albert Berner Foundation, because without it, this would not have been possible."

Extensive educational support

"Since its establishment 30 years ago, the Albert Berner Foundation has provided varied and generous support to institutions and projects in our city," explains Künzelsau's mayor, Stefan Neumann. "Among other things, it has enabled community projects as part of the community budget and supports the summer school, which gives children three entertaining and enriching weeks of holiday every year. Thanks to the foundation, we are also able to offer theatre performances for children and young people in our cultural program at an unbeatably low admission price." Like the cultural program in the town hall, the municipal library also enjoys Ursula Berner's special attention. "Our honorary citizen provided €100,000 for the new library facilities following the complete renovation of the old town hall, which had been severely damaged by storms in 2016," says Stefan Neumann. "To mark the company's 60th anniversary, BERNER also supported several projects in kindergartens and schools, and its financial contribution also enabled the small playing field at Heinz-Ziehl-Sportpark to be built."

130,000 euros for a new teaching pool and swimming lessons

The list of successfully funded projects could be expanded with many, many more examples. And a new one will be added very soon, the mayor is pleased to announce. Stefan Neumann has now received two symbolic cheques with a total value of €130,000. With a private donation (€100,000), Albert Berner is supporting the construction of a teaching pool at the TollKÜN swimming center. Instead of gifts, he asked for donations to the foundation on his 90th birthday. The foundation is therefore adding an additional €30,000 for swimming lessons and water familiarization, which are intended to teach young people how to be safe in the water – particularly important given that fewer and fewer boys and girls are learning to swim. "This outstanding commitment benefits children and young people in particular and enables us to fulfil our educational mission and create attractive offers for all generations," says Stefan Neumann. "On behalf of the residents of Künzelsau and the local council, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mrs Berner, Mr Berner, the Berner family and the Albert Berner Foundation."

Foundation chairwoman thanks dedicated helpers

"I feel deeply connected to the Hohenlohe area, the town of Künzelsau and the people who live here," emphasizes Ursula Berner. "I consider it a matter of course that I take responsibility for the common good and try to make a positive contribution to the region with the foundation. It gives me great pleasure and also a little pride to look back on how many projects we have already been able to support. The success of all the projects and organizations we support depends on the good people working behind the scenes. It takes dedicated helpers who are passionate about our society. I would like to thank them all from the bottom of my heart. With the Albert Berner Foundation, we will continue to make many initiatives possible in the future that enrich the coexistence of young and old in our homeland."

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