Strick group in Bautzen fights for their existence - help urgently wanted!

Strick group in Bautzen fights for their existence - help urgently wanted!

Bautzen. A cozy meeting point threatens to close the doors! In the independent senior citizens' association, where around 600 members gather once a month under the roof of more than 600 women once a month to knit and chat, the signs are on storm. The popular senior club, where stories are replaced and handicrafts are made for a good cause, faces serious financial bottlenecks. The alarm call is clear: "We cannot operate the big house without financial support. As difficult as it would be for us, we would have to close it from March 1, 2025," warns Monika Petrick, the club's director.

In the midst of steaming coffee cups and autumn decoration, not only socks and wage work are made at the meetings. Participation brings joie de vivre and community, and the commitment to women with breast cancer is no trouble. These committed knitters have decided to create 25 triangles for a "hug" to donate comfort. But looking into the future is dark, because the funding for the financial support of the facilities expires until March 1, 2025, and the prospects for new funding are anything but rosy.

Financing threatens to break

"It is not the first time that we are alarm. Already during the Corona pandemic we asked for support, and the answers were sparse," continued Petrick. The employee, who has been responsible for the financial matters for years, soon says goodbye to retirement and without an adequate successor, the entire company could collapse. The women fear that their beloved weekly meetings and important activities for seniors in Bautzen could soon be a thing of the past. With up to 1,000 seniors who use the offers every month, the loss is catastrophic.