Special Christmas campaign starts: pensioners should be able to donate an energy flat rate to the needy

Created: 11/26/2022, 8:02 am

By: Boris Forstner

The first donors have already been found: (from left) Pastor Jost Herrmann, Martin Schleier, Hans Enzensperger, Kurt Büchler, Peter Kienle, Joachim Endhart and Ernst Dengler.

© Elena Siegl

Committed citizens are starting a special Christmas campaign in cooperation with the local newspaper: they are campaigning for pensioners to donate the energy flat rate that they will receive from December 1st and that not everyone needs, to needy citizens in the district.

Potential recipients can register now.

District – From December 1st, many pensioners can look forward to: Then they too will receive an energy flat rate of 300 euros from the federal government to cushion the extremely high prices for natural gas and the like.

What is urgently needed for many to make ends meet leaves others a bit at a loss - because not all pensioners are doing badly.

"I don't need the 300 euros," says Martin Schleier from Schongau, for example.

As a former teacher, he gets a decent pension and would like to see the money donated by the state targeted where it is needed.

But how is that supposed to work?

He asked the protestant pastor Jost Herrmann in Schongau and inquired at the local newspaper whether they knew of a possibility – and with that he gave an open door.

Pastor Hermann is convinced: "I think that quite a few people are ready for it"

Michael Walk, managing director of the Boneberger butcher shop based in Schongau, has already donated 15,000 euros to a good cause ten times shortly before Christmas in cooperation with the local newspaper.

But this year he has to take a break.

On the one hand, because he already donated 20,000 euros in April for the treatment of an employee with cancer.

On the other hand, because the energy costs also make it difficult for his company to cope.

Christmas promotion: How it's done

If you want to suggest yourself or someone else for a donation, send an e-mail to locales@schongauer-nachrichten.de, redaktion@weilheimer-tagblatt.de or redaktion@penzberger-merkur.de.

Please briefly describe the situation why the proposed person or institution is in need and urgently needs financial help.

If you want to donate, please transfer 300 euros to the donation account (see below).

Of course, less than 300 euros can also be donated, and the donors do not have to be pensioners either.

The name of the donor can be mentioned if desired, but is not required.

For donations of up to 300 euros, the account statement serves as a donation receipt.

So there would have been no Christmas fundraiser in the local newspaper this year.

But what if there are more people like Schleier who would like to donate their energy allowance?

Then it would also be possible this year to help citizens in need.

"I believe that quite a few people are willing to do this," says Pastor Herrmann, who was also quickly convinced of the sense of the campaign.

Everything was set in motion without further ado, the action can take place almost as usual.

The jury will decide which proposals will be supported with which amount

Accordingly, you, dear readers, can make suggestions as to how the money, which we hope has been generously received, should be used.

The special thing about it: Anyone can apply and suggest someone who doesn't know anything about it - for example a friend or acquaintance who has gotten into acute financial distress through no fault of their own.

The person who made the suggestion can, but does not have to, be named if they do not want to – this way it is also possible to help people who would otherwise never contact themselves.

(Our Schongau newsletter keeps you regularly informed about all the important stories from your region. Register here.)

A jury will decide which proposals will be supported with which amount.

At the start of the campaign, Schleier and Herrmann have already found a few donors, and a certain financial basis is there.

"If we find 50 donors, we'll have the 15,000 euros together," says Herrmann.

Schleier, who has already done a lot of advertising among his circle of acquaintances, is even more optimistic: "100 donors are my goal."

Donation account:

The Schongau evangelical pastor Jost Herrmann, who was the driving force behind the initiative, made the donation account of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Schongau (Sparkasse Oberland) available for the campaign.

IBAN DE40 7035 1030 0000 0011 72, subject: Advent campaign 2022

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The local newspapers in the Weilheim-Schongau district are represented on Instagram under “merkur_wm_sog”.