More than 3.5 million euros have been raised in Düsseldorf since 2015 through the holiday donation campaign “Düsseldorf setzt ein Zeichen,” which returns for its twelfth year this pre-Christmas season, Ddorf-Aktuell – Internetzeitung Düsseldorf reported.
The campaign originated in 2015 as a planned one-off initiative by the Bürgerstiftung Düsseldorf to support people in need across the city, including families, children, seniors, the homeless, and refugees, as the volume of individuals requiring assistance shows no signs of decreasing.
In 2025 alone, the community foundation distributed 68,000 euros worth of supermarket food vouchers to those in need via various welfare organizations, alongside allocations of 15,000 euros for food supplies at Café Grenzenlos and 12,000 euros for the upkeep of the Firminusklause soup kitchen. Additional funds included 8,000 euros spent on sleeping pads, sleeping bags, and tents for homeless residents, while the “Sport statt Straße” project and the Psychosoziale Zentrum received 10,000 euros each.
For the current campaign cycle, organizers plan to distribute another 4,000 supermarket food vouchers valued at 20 euros each to needy residents, backed by ongoing community partnerships.
“We are very pleased that Fortuna continues to support our initiative,” said Marion Drösser, chairwoman of the board of the Bürgerstiftung, noting that volunteers will collect deposit beakers alongside foundation members on November 21 during the home match against Sonnenhof Großaspach.
To broaden its reach, the foundation introduced four prominent local figures as its new ambassadors against poverty and social exclusion: marathon race director Sonja Oberem, DJK TuSA 06 chairwoman Ute Groth, master confectioner Heinz-Richard Heinemann, and concept artist Mischa Kuball.
Oberem served as an ambassador last year, during which she successfully integrated the foundation as a charity partner for the Düsseldorf Marathon, installing donation gates along the route that generated approximately 10,000 euros while foundation staff ran in multiple relay teams.
“I am glad to use my voice and my network again for this good cause and hope that we can achieve as much as possible together,” Oberem told Ddorf-Aktuell – Internetzeitung Düsseldorf.
Kuball, a conceptual artist and guest professor at the University of Wuppertal, plans to invite children and young people into his studio to work collaboratively, aiming to increase the visibility and social participation of youth rather than focusing solely on staging a resulting exhibition.
Groth approaches her ambassadorial role guided by Erich Kästner’s maxim that nothing good happens unless one does it, planning to network with other sports clubs to organize fundraising events that benefit the foundation’s work in offering attention and time alongside financial relief.
Heinemann is contributing through the local economy by supplying the foundation with holiday gift bags filled with baked goods and confectionery specialties to be distributed directly to elderly residents in need.
