At breakfast or lunch, when the residents of the Maria Stadler House need help, they are there: the table attendants.
They have been investing their time for 34 years.
Hair - smear butter and jam on breakfast bread, slowly bring the soup to your mouth, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, all these are the tasks of the Haarer table ladies. They help the residents of the Maria-Stadler-Haus (MSH) with breakfast or lunch. The volunteer helpers are much more than that, they have an open ear, a warm word and, above all, time. "An incredibly important support for us" is the work of the table ladies, confirms MSH director Maria Lehr. “I can't thank you all enough for the many, many hours. For me they are employees of our company. "
The service has been around for 34 years, as long as the Maria-Stadler-Haus.
It was initiated by Theresa Heil from the Förderverein Maria-Stadler-Haus eV, who ran the nursing home and retirement home in the first few years.
Since May 1, 2011, the sponsorship has been transferred to the Maria-Stadler-Haus non-profit GmbH, the sponsoring association continues to exist.
Two years ago the house moved from the town center by the town hall to the new building on Vockestrasse.
"Where have you been?"
The table ladies have “moved” too, but not without problems. Because most of them have been with us for many years and have also grown older. “In the past, I only had to walk a few meters from the Jagdfeldring, now I come by bike, the underpass under the S-Bahn with its incline is bothering me. In bad weather or in winter I take the bus, ”reports Edith Dörr. She is 81 years old, she did the “feeding duty” for 33 years, now it's over. “For personal reasons, it's just too much for me.” Nevertheless, she wants to stick to private visits to the home. “People grow dear to you, and I got so much in return,” said Dörr. Throughout the years she has helped lunch every Wednesday. She allowed herself a week's vacation, but was immediately asked: "Where have you been?"
Elfriede Modl (85) has also completed her last “working day” after 25 years of table service. The new house is just too far away, and “you have to stop at some point”. However, like her colleague Dörr, she almost has tears in her eyes. For the organizer of the table ladies, Rosemarie Sure, it goes on. Big plans are on the table in front of her, in which she enters the available times of her fellow campaigners. Also something that the home manager Lehr appreciates, "the table attendants organize themselves. We have no work at all."
Each helper comes to work once a week for about an hour and a half.
In good times, Sure was able to fall back on almost 30 table ladies, now there are 14 newcomers welcome.
"If you want to join in, you should give me a call," says Sure.
the requirements?
Cordiality, you have to bring that with you.
No more. ”The closure of the home during Corona also challenged the table attendants.
They have only been back in action since mid-June, all of them double vaccinated and fully protected.
“Luckily, we're starting again,” says Sure.
Not all residents are still there, “some died during the lockdown.
Unfortunately there was no farewell. "
You can find more news from Haar and the district of Munich here.
