Update on funded project 05/2025: Schutzengelwerk Berlin

Bianca Sommerfeld with her playing children of the Schutzengelwerk Berlin

A few days ago, we received a report from Bianca Sommerfeld, Managing Director of SchutzengelWerk gGmbH Berlin, providing an update on our funded project 05/2025. Last year, we provided €2,350 in funding for an Easter holiday program for children in need and children with an immigrant background in Berlin-Steglitz (we previously reported on this on our website). Ms. Sommerfelds review have impressed us much. It is great how much we were able to achieve for the children through our support. Bianca Sommerfeld wrote to us: 

A great deal has developed at our Schutzengel-Haus in Steglitz since your visit. The house remains just as vibrant as you experienced it back then. We have been supporting many of the children for several years now; it is wonderful to see them gain self-confidence, take on responsibility, and support one another. We are particularly pleased that we have been able to significantly expand our tutoring services thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers. Many children are now benefiting from even more intensive academic support—and we see every day just how much they thrive on this extra time and attention. 

And since it is currently summer vacation, things are anything but routine around here—in the best possible way. As you know from your support of our Easter holiday program, school breaks are incredibly important for our children. While many families travel or go on outings together, children affected by poverty often spend the holidays at home—frequently alone or without any special experiences. That makes it all the more vital for us to provide a place during the break where they can experience a sense of community and simply be children. That is why our teams are out and about with the kids almost every day—whether at the outdoor pool, on an excursion, enjoying a picnic together, or simply running around and playing in the Park. 

For many of our children, memories are being formed during these very weeks that will stay with them for a lifetime. And quite honestly: these days, we often find ourselves thinking back to your Easter holiday program. You gave so many children unforgettable experiences back then—and I am certain that many of them still remember those moments today. 

The children at our other Schutzengel center in Hohenschoenhausen are also currently in the midst of a varied holiday program. When you visited us back then, our second center—located in a part of northeast Berlin heavily affected by poverty—had only just opened. We were full of confidence, yet naturally also eager to see whether our concept would be as well-received there as it was in Steglitz. Today, we can say: It was exactly the right decision. 

The Schutzengel-Haus in Hohenschoenhausen has become a real hub for the children in the neighborhood. Every afternoon, the house comes alive. Some children arrive straight from school, take their time eating lunch, and talk about their day. Others head straight for the homework table or draw their supervisors into long conversations about whatever is on their minds. And, of course, there is plenty of laughter, discussion, and play.

Most of our children now visit us almost daily and say, quite naturally: Im going to the Guardian Angel House later, or—even better—This is my second home. That is exactly what we had hoped for when we created this place. Today, we have the joy of seeing that hope become reality. 

Of course, we experience difficult days, too. Not every story follows a straight path, and not every worry simply vanishes. Yet, therein lies the heart of our work: we are not here merely for an outing or a holiday program. We stay. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. For many of our children, this very reliability is the most valuable gift we can offer. 

I often think of a boy who has been coming to our center in Hohenschoenhausen almost every afternoon since it opened. His life is marked by many hardships. At first, he found it difficult to build trust. Today, he speaks quite naturally of the Schutzengel-Haus as his second home. Such developments can be neither planned nor forced—they emerge because children are given time here and get to experience patience and reliable relationships. That is precisely what our Schutzengel-Häuser stand for. 

Your support helped us continue on this path. To this day, the children still talk about the Easter holidays that you made possible through your foundation. For many, these were days filled with experiences they would never have had without your help. Such memories often endure far longer than one might initially expect.

I have attached a brief photographic glimpse into the past year and a half at our two Guardian Angel houses. I believe these images convey—better than numbers—what has become of our idea and why we pour so much heart and soul into this work every day. 

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Wulkow, I wanted to get in touch with you today—above all, simply to let you know that the support you provided back then continues to have a lasting impact to this day. I am very grateful to you for that.

Warm regards from Berlin

Bianca Sommerfeld - CEO Schutzengelwerk gGmbH Berlin

Photos: Schutzengelwerk, Berlin; published with kind permission.