Help for forgotten children Harley-Davidson supports the German „Off Road Kids“ foundation
• The company donates $7,143 to help reintegrate street children
• Streetwork stations in major German cities benefit from the donation
With her autobiographical book „Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo“ (We Children from Bahnhof Zoo), a 16-year-old girl from Berlin gained nationwide fame in Germany in 1978 under the pseudonym Christiane F. – a vicious circle of drug addiction and prostitution marked her life. The fact that fates such as Christiane F.„s are now a thing of the past is partly thanks to the Off Road Kids Foundation, which was established in 1993 by author and journalist Markus Seidel. The national aid organization, which now operates street work stations in major German cities, a parent counseling hotline, two children's homes, and the Institute for Educational Management (IfPM), has helped more than 3,000 young people out of homelessness. But according to experts, up to 2,500 children and young people aged 12 and older still end up on the streets in Germany every year. Many of them become street children who secure their survival through begging, prostitution, or petty crime.
The Motor Company wants to help and has therefore been supporting the work of the Off Road Kids foundation since 2012. „When we first heard about Off Road Kids, we were shocked to learn that at least 300 minors and an unknown number of adult runaways arrive in major German cities every year,“ explains Christian Arnezeder, Managing Director of
Harley-Davidson Germany GmbH, the commitment. „Without the help of ‚Off Road Kids,‘ they might become street children permanently.“
This year, the Harley-Davidson Foundation once again made a donation to Off Road Kids. On September 10, Christian Arnezeder, together with his colleagues Markus Geissner and Frank Klumpp, as well as Matthias Meier from the Frankfurt-based Harley-Factory dealership, presented Markus Seidel with a check for US$7,143. „The donation will benefit our street work stations in Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund, and Cologne and help local staff to show the young people in their care what opportunities are available to them,“ said Seidel happily.
If you would like to learn more about Off Road Kids or get involved with the organization, you can find further information online at www.offroadkids.de
