Photo: Darmstädter Echo

The Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychosomatik at the Darmstädter Kinderkliniken Prinzessin Margaret has been in existence since 2002. It has an outpatient clinic, an inpatient clinic with 22 beds and a day clinic with 10 treatment places. The sparse and uninviting premises will now be remodelled with the help of the friends’ association and a donation campaign spearheaded by Echo Media. The planned spatial concept, which will require a total of around 150,000 euros, will also create two additional therapy places. The first funds have already been credited to the account of the Förderverein Darmstädter Kinderkliniken Prinzessin Margaret (Sparkasse Darmstadt, IBAN: DE08 5085 0150 0002 0907 40) as part of the “Echo hilft!” fundraising campaign, in which newspaper readers from the Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwald, Bergstrasse and Groß-Gerau districts are participating alongside local organisations. 20,000 euros came from the Software AG Foundation (SAGST).

“A hospital stay is very stressful for children and their relatives. Various scientific studies have now shown that the sterile and unfamiliar environment can even have a counterproductive effect on the healing process”, says board member Peter Augustin, explaining SAGST’s motivation for funding the project. “That is why we are delighted that our contribution will enable a warm atmosphere that promotes healing, which is particularly important for the increasing number of young patients suffering from mental stress and effectively supports the therapeutic and educational work in the day clinic for paediatric and adolescent psychosomatic disorder.” SAGST, a foundation based in Darmstadt that promotes holistic approaches in medicine, is once again partnering with “Echo hilft!”. In addition to strengthening the integrative concept of the day clinic – which also includes art, music, dance and movement therapy, as well as the close involvement of parents – and making it accessible to a larger target group, SAGST hopes that its donation will also help to increase the visibility of civic engagement. Peter Augustin went on to say that he was impressed to see how much heart and continuity the friends’ association has shown for nearly a quarter of a century in all the areas the clinic’s sponsor was unable to cover.