“Light in the Dark”
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of “Licht ins Dunkel”, the people of Lower Austria once once more showed their willingness to donate. Almost half a million euros were donated on Christmas Eve in the ORF Lower Austria TV show.
The amount of donations that was reached on December 24 this year slightly exceeded that collected last year. At that time it was 490,582 euros. Numerous supporters and companions of the campaign came to the ORF broadcasting center in St. Pölten this year to hand over their donation. The largest individual donors are the Lower Austrian News with 150,000 euros, followed by Spar with a good 85,000 euros, donaukultur.com with 59,000 and the state of Lower Austria and Raiffeisen Lower Austria-Vienna with 50,000 euros each.
One example of how these donations are used is the rainbow valley therapy center in Leobersdorf (Baden district), where seriously ill and disabled children are cared for. With the money from “Licht ins Dunkel” they now want to build a living area in which families can also be accommodated as inpatients.
40-fold help for “people in need”
In total, more than 40 projects in Lower Austria were supported last year. According to ORF Lower Austria program director Karl Trahbüchler, the best gift for the anniversary might only be “to help as many as possible. These are families with children and people with disabilities who are in need.”
Mario Thaler, Managing Director of “Licht ins Dunkel”, speaks of a focus in the anniversary year: “An anniversary fund was set up in the summer. This is aimed at particularly inclusive and innovative projects that are designed for the long term but are not financed by the public sector.” With the support of “Licht ins Dunkel” they want to prove that these concepts would work. Thaler’s goal: “We want to show that these are good projects that should continue to be financed by the public sector in the long term.”
Bishop: “Perceive each other as human beings”
“Christmas is regarding us perceiving each other as human beings,” said St. Pölten Diocesan Bishop Alois Schwarz during his visit to the state studio. It is important to be there for one another and to pay attention to one’s fellow human beings – “because our God, who became human, has noticed human beings. The greatest gift is this child of Bethlehem.”