The Center for Environment and Culture (ZUK) has to cope with severe financial losses this year.
This became known at the annual meeting of the Association of Friends and Patrons.
Benediktbeuern
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Dr.
Lutz Spandau, treasurer of the sponsoring association, put the loss of income due to the corona-related shutdown of activities at 320,000 euros by the end of September alone.
In the meantime, however, the occupancy numbers have risen again.
Nevertheless, they are currently considering how to set up a “new, future-proof ZUK”, including in terms of marketing.
"The ZUK should develop into a sustainable institution," says the press release.
At the beginning, Rector Father Karl Geißinger described the changed situation due to the corona pandemic and the new offers that had been created.
Since no school camp stays are allowed until the end of January 2021, efforts have been made to attract adults and families as overnight guests and to offer educational work here.
“The ZUK offered corresponding holiday programs more frequently for smaller groups,” reported the Father.
Package deals such as overnight accommodation with a guided tour of the monastery, a “Carmina Burana” evening and excursions were very well received by the guests.
The leisure activities with educational content have been methodically adapted for senior citizens, families and young people.
In addition, daily offers for children and young people from the region have been intensified.
The project "Outside School" with the primary school Benediktbeuern has proven itself, Geißinger was pleased.
Here the children get to the bottom of different nature topics experimentally, for example they create flower beds and butterfly meadows.
Thanks to a sponsor, the project can now also be offered to schools in Penzberg.
In environmental youth education, projects for disadvantaged children and young people could be continued.
The "Strong Hope" project was funded by the Allianz Environmental Foundation for a long time.
In this project, social hours are done through nature conservation measures on areas of the monastery land, as well as with socially conspicuous children in the project "Outside Strong".
Thanks to the support of the Father Herbert Bihlmaier Foundation, these projects will now be continued, the rector announced.
Nature conservation and landscape management were not affected by the corona situation.
In the grazing project, a farmer can cultivate wet land with old breeds of domestic animals, water buffalo, goat species and horses.
A conference on this was postponed to 2021.
Marcel Huber, the association's chairman, would like to motivate the members to support the work even more in the future.
Because it is becoming more expensive: "The current expenditure for educational offers is now higher," said Huber.
The same personnel expenditure is required for the smaller groups.
According to treasurer Albrecht Schleich, the association assumed project costs of 11,000 euros in 2019.
For 2020, grants of 60,000 euros are planned, based on donations from members.
The donation volume is currently 40,000 euros.
Pastor Pater Heiner Heim, chairman of the ZUK support association, reported on seven meetings since March 2020, in which the board discussed how the ZUK can go on.
The top priority was to keep employees' jobs.
Thanks to the support of the sponsors, state aid and donations, the ZUK came through this difficult time reasonably well, said the pastor.
All employees are on short-time work, but some have now been able to return to their full work.
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