Vienna is investing 80,000 euros for fair school start assistance!

Vienna is investing 80,000 euros for fair school start assistance!

With a financial contribution of 80,000 euros from the Children and Youth Million, the City of Vienna is supporting young families who are burdened by the costs of school supplies. In view of the fact that the costs for starting school per child amount to around 150 euros, the “Free Learning Box for All” initiative sets an important accent in relieving the burden on affected households. A total of 1,760 vouchers worth 50 euros each were issued to make it easier to purchase school supplies, reports Vienna.gv.at.

Bettina Emmerling, Vice Mayor of Vienna, highlighted the importance of young people's participation in this initiative. The idea came about through a study carried out by the Vienna Student Parliament. The results clearly showed the financial pressures on families, highlighting the need for this support.

Unbureaucratic help for families

The vouchers are distributed in facilities of the Vienna Youth Centers Association as well as in open youth work and can be redeemed at the partners LIBRO and PAGRO DISKONT. Manuela Smertnik, the association's managing director, emphasizes the low-threshold support, which enables the vouchers to be issued unbureaucratically and confidentially. The response from young people and their parents has been consistently positive.

The approach of this initiative is not isolated. It is part of a broader program by the City of Vienna, which has been running since 2021 and provides a total of one million euros for ideas from young people between the ages of five and 20. Benjamin Schmid, head of Junges Wien, emphasizes the successful collaboration between the idea generators, youth institutions and the city. This multi-animal support not only promotes education, but also contributes to social participation.

Other educational initiatives

The city's commitment is not just limited to the start of school. The city of Vienna has also offered free swimming training for children, which is already fully booked due to high demand. With these courses, the city would like to expand the education and participation package and plans to create more such offerings in the future reports ORF Vienna.

In addition, there are various programs to provide financial support for families in different life situations. These include the social and family pass as well as parental allowance. These initiatives provide low-income families with financial relief in everyday life to cover key expenses such as school supplies, tutoring and leisure activities says Easy-Schule.de.