{"id":44718,"date":"2020-12-23T14:52:58","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T13:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.steinmuehle.de\/blog\/2020\/12\/23\/steinmuehle-spreads-love-180-times-even-the-mayor-and-hr-are-impressed\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T17:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:34:57","slug":"steinmuehle-spreads-love-180-times-even-the-mayor-and-hr-are-impressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/blog\/2020\/12\/23\/steinmuehle-spreads-love-180-times-even-the-mayor-and-hr-are-impressed\/","title":{"rendered":"Steinm\u00fchle Spreads Love 180 Times \u2013 Even the Mayor and HR Are Impressed"},"content":{"rendered":"

It all started with a simple idea: shared joy is double the joy!
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The students at the Steinm\u00fchle boarding school have also noticed that these vital resources derived from social relationships are currently difficult to access due to the COVID-19 measures. Adolescence is supposed to be characterized by diverse social relationships that can play a particularly important role in the developmental process; however, the many opportunities for social interaction are currently severely limited. <\/p>\n

Boarding school educator Francine Olschewski also noticed this growing desire for social interaction and connection among the students at the Steinm\u00fchle boarding school. And so the idea was quite simple: By doing something good for others, you might also be doing something good for yourself in the process. From this simple idea by the educator emerged a successful and promising collaboration between the City of Marburg\u2019s \u201cIn W\u00fcrde Teilhaben\u201d project and the Steinm\u00fchle boarding school community. <\/p>\n

Small Ideas with a Big Impact<\/strong><\/p>\n

The City of Marburg\u2019s project aims to improve the subjective well-being of elderly and very elderly people who are lonely and living in isolation by establishing contact with them. During the run-up to Christmas, surprise packages\u2014known as \u201cencouragement bags\u201d\u2014were put together for this purpose, and the boarding school students contributed to them with homemade cookies and handcrafted Christmas cards. <\/p>\n

At first, a handful of students got together and pooled their ideas. It quickly became clear: Our students wanted to do something good for people in need during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone can bake cookies, and many are creatively talented: so for the \u201cCheer-Up Bag,\u201d the students wanted to include something delicious and a kind message. \u201cI finally felt like I was doing something meaningful again!\u201d says student Friederike enthusiastically. \u201cSuch small things can bring so much joy.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The entire boarding school community pitches in<\/strong><\/p>\n

The students\u2019 initiative impressively demonstrated that sharing experiences with others can enhance our well-being:
\nWith the support of boarding school counselor Francine Olschewski, this small group of students managed to get every member of the boarding school community to participate in this initiative. As a result, ovens are running hot in all six residential groups as students bake cookies, and even the housekeeping and administrative staff helped design the cards. \u201cI really didn\u2019t think we\u2019d be able to pull this off. But so many people on campus were enthusiastic about the idea that, in the end, we all pulled it off together,\u201d Francine Olschewski reports proudly. In the end, the boarding school community donated 180 bags of cookies and 180 individually designed cards to the \u201cMut-Mach-T\u00fcte\u201d project. <\/p>\n

Mayor Spies and HR document the handover<\/strong><\/p>\n

And because the initiative is so full of compassion and dedication, it was no surprise that Mayor Dr. Thomas Spies wanted to be there to help present the gifts to the project leader. This ultimately even drew Hessischer Rundfunk to the Steinm\u00fchlen grounds, where they recorded the students presenting their homemade gifts to project leader Ms. Angela Sch\u00f6nemann. Boarding school student Noah is especially thrilled: \u201cIt all started with just a little idea. And now I\u2019m carrying the cookies right alongside the mayor!\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You can listen to the segment from the show HERE<\/strong> <\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Endless Commitment \u2013 Students Are Motivated<\/strong><\/p>\n

Caught up in the excitement, the students naturally can\u2019t resist taking part in the distribution of the \u201ccheer-up\u201d bags to the elderly. And so, equipped with FFP2 masks, bags of homemade cookies, and handcrafted cards, some students are bringing a little joy to elderly people living alone in Marburg. \u201cI think it\u2019s super cool what you\u2019ve started here. It began with just a little idea, and I\u2019m so touched by the result. This is exactly what older people need right now,\u201d says project leader Angela Sch\u00f6nemann happily. <\/p>\n

Three groups of students surprise lonely seniors at their front doors with a socially distanced visit during the pre-Christmas season. A special highlight: Felix, a student who hopes to study music someday, delights and amazes them with spontaneous arias and choral songs right at their front doors. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The reactions are very emotional on both sides: While the elderly express their joy at this spontaneous, lovely surprise with effusive warmth, the students are deeply moved that such a small gesture can bring so much joy. \u201cI can hardly believe how much love is coming our way. I definitely want to keep doing things like this next year!\u201d says student Verena, visibly moved. <\/p>\n

Cooperation to Continue \u2013 Doing Good in 2021 as Well<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite all the challenges, the students at Steinm\u00fchle Boarding School have already put together a wonderful project this year. Inspired by the heartfelt reactions of the elderly residents, initiator Francine Olschewski and her students are eager to continue the project in 2021. They are planning to establish mentoring relationships and regular contact between young and old. No matter what\u2014the Steinm\u00fchle boarding school community will find its own unique way to make this happen in 2021 as well. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It all started with a simple idea: shared joy is double the joy! The students at the Steinm\u00fchle boarding school have also noticed that these vital resources derived from social relationships are currently difficult to access due to the COVID-19 measures. Adolescence is supposed to be characterized by diverse social relationships that can play a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":44722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,85,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collaborations-partnerships","category-news","category-social-engagement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49270,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44718\/revisions\/49270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}