To promote the social integration of children living in poverty, Winterhilfe Schweiz launched its Empowerment programme for children and young people in 2012 in collaboration with the Roger Federer Foundation. The support programme gives children from families affected by poverty the chance to pursue meaningful spare-time activities like sport, music or arts and crafts that their families would otherwise not be able to afford. In addition to the cost of courses, for example football training, piano lessons or circus school, Winterhilfe also offers financial support for things like buying equipment or renting instruments.
In 2021, Winterhilfe helped a total of 1,385 disadvantaged children and young people aged 4 to 16 to attend courses in their spare time. The ongoing pandemic situation has also highlighted the importance of this programme: “The first wave of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 hit a lot of people on low incomes hard – including many young families. That makes us even happier that we were able to bring a bit of normality back into the lives of these children again in 2021 thanks to the generosity of our donors”, said Monika Stampfli, managing director of Winterhilfe Schweiz.
As part of its social engagement, Baloise made a donation of CHF 25,000 to Winterhilfe that was used to fund its Empowerment programme.