Benefit concert becomes a success: 8000 Euro for the Tafeln in Arnstadt and Ilmenau

Around 1,000 people in Arnstadt and Ilmenau cannot currently afford basic foodstuffs and are dependent on the help of the food banks in the two towns. The high number of needy people poses a challenge for the Tafeln, because there is not always enough food for everyone. To relieve them, the LIONS Club Arnstadt-Ilmenau, the Rotary Clubs of Arnstadt and Ilmenau and the Ilmenau Technical University recently joined forces and invited people to a benefit concert in the university's Audimax, the proceeds of which, 8000 euros, including voluntary donations, went entirely to the food banks in Ilmenau and Arnstadt.

The benefit concert was initially a project of the LIONS Club Arnstadt-Ilmenau. For several years, the club has repeatedly organized concerts for charitable purposes. In order to win new comrades-in-arms, those responsible approached the Rotary Clubs of Arnstadt and Ilmenau. The organizers' idea: a concert for the Ilmenau and Arnstadt charities in the Audimax, the largest lecture hall at Ilmenau Technical University. With its excellent acoustics, easily accessible location and barrier-free access, the auditorium is a much sought-after space for concerts. For example, the Academic Orchestra or the university's Second Unit Jazz delight their visitors every semester in the lecture hall, which becomes a concert hall for these evenings.

Quickly and without complications, the TU Ilmenau decided to support the clubs and made the Audimax available free of charge, as Thomas Schröder, head of the University Computer Center and board member of the Rotary Club of Ilmenau, explains. The TU Ilmenau not only provided the premises, but also technology for the benefit concert and promoted the concert with flyers, posters as well as on social media. Nevertheless, on the day of the event, the organizers were worried that not enough people would find their way to the Audimax. On the one hand, because the advance sale had started rather moderately, said Thomas Schröder. On the other hand, because a snowfall surprised the organizers in the afternoon. All the greater was the joy when about 350 guests enjoyed the performance of the Erfurt orchestra Collegium musicum and 8000 euros were raised - a large part of which came from ticket sales. In the run-up to the concert, local companies had already donated to the Tafeln.

I think the combination of culture and a good cause was very successful, because everyone got something out of it. Many people came together, enjoyed the music and met friends. I will remember this wonderful evening for a long time.

says Thomas Schröder.

LIONS Club

For more than 100 years, the name Lions Clubs International (LCI) has stood for civic involvement, service to the community and helping people in need. With more than 1.4 million members in over 200 countries, LCI is the world's largest charitable club movement and even has consultative status in the UN. In Germany alone, some 52,000 women and men are involved in 1,580 clubs. The basis is common values such as humanity, friendship, truthfulness, civic awareness and social responsibility.

Rotary

Rotary is an international network of 1.4 million committed men and women. Rotary clubs are as diverse as their members. All clubs share humanitarian ideals and base their existence on common ethical principles, but each club is distinct and cultivates its individual club life. More than 46,000 clubs organize projects focusing on peace work, fighting disease, water and hygiene problems, caring for mothers and children, promoting education, promoting the economy and protecting the environment. The Rotary Club of Ilmenau has also been involved in the region for almost 25 years. This includes, among others, the support of the toboggan club Ilmenau, the youth club Oase on the Pörlitzer Höhe, the Lebenshilfe, the school hostel Geraberg, the association for sports and experience-oriented integrative social work e.V. and the reforestation around the Kickelhahn.