... Since 2004, the AKM has been caring for families with unborn babies, newborns, infants, children and adolescents, as well as young adults with a life-threatening or life-shortening illness and seriously ill parents with minors in the household.

The AKM Foundation is there for the entire family, from the diagnosis of the illness until after death. The team is supported in this work by full-time doctors, psychologists, nurses, social workers and over 180 volunteers in the areas of crisis intervention, family and grief counseling. The aim is to be a firm support for families during this difficult time and to provide moments of safety, security and normality.

The AKM Foundation has to finance itself almost entirely from donations. Therefore: every cent counts! The foundation relies on donations large and small to provide accommodation and care for the children and their families. Only with many helping hands and generous donors can the AKM maintain and expand its services for the affected families. This is more necessary than ever: the graph on the development of families receiving care clearly shows that the need for AKM's services is constantly increasing.

You too can sponsor a family every year!

WEKA FACHMEDIEN GmbH has been actively supporting the foundation as a family sponsor for several years now. Publishing directors Matthäus Hose and Peter Eberhard have repeatedly visited the foundation to gain an insight into its diverse work.

Shortly before Christmas, WEKA FACHMEDIEN took on a family sponsorship for 2018 with a cheque for 7,000 euros. This will provide for a family for a whole year. Lena Bronner, Head of Public Relations and Fundraising at the foundation, was delighted when she was presented with the check on December 18, 2017.

The AKM Foundation's service is currently offered throughout Bavaria with the two specialist centers in Fünfseenland (Starnberg & Weilheim districts + Landsberg & Fürstenfeldbruck) and Munich City - it is free of charge for the families concerned.

The trend in the number of families receiving support clearly shows that the need for services is constantly increasing.

© AKM

The range of services also includes the RUF24 crisis service. When you look at the illnesses of children, adolescents and young adults, it quickly becomes clear that some things are unpredictable and cannot be planned. A child who has just been beaming is suddenly in intensive care and on the brink of death. Parents are suddenly so exhausted that they no longer know what to do. Then there are accidents, unexpected diagnoses - even during pregnancy - and much more.

In such situations, the AKM Foundation's RUF24 crisis service is at the family's side: seven days a week; 24 hours a day; regardless of the time of day, including Sundays and public holidays, Christmas or New Year's Eve. How does it work? By means of a telephone number that can be found on the homepage http://www.kinderhospiz-muenchen.net and is known to our affected AKM families. This emergency number is also displayed and passed on in many children's intensive care units, pediatricians' offices, midwives' practices and therapists' offices. Families, relatives or hospital staff can call at any time.

The crisis service staff listen to the person on the phone and discuss with them how and where they can provide support. In most cases, they go to the family's home, hospital or wherever the family needs help. Within a period of one to two hours, depending on traffic, the employees are then on site. With the help of special training in attachment-oriented systematic crisis intervention, each RUF24 employee has learned to support and accompany affected families individually. This includes keeping quiet when words fail and providing support in times of disorientation. There is also a psychological background that is available to the RUF24 employees in an advisory capacity or actively supports them in particularly complex situations. This is done for the family, with the family, as a companion, but never as a guide.

This special form of support takes place for as long as the family is in an acute crisis, possibly over several days or weeks. If the family wishes, they can then continue to be accompanied by the AKM coordination team. This service is completely free of charge for the families and is funded solely by the foundation.

You too can take on the annual sponsorship of a family!

You can obtain further information from
Munich Outpatient Children's Hospice Foundation - AKM
Blutenburgstraße 64-66
80636 Munich
Tel: +49 (0)89 588 0303 11
E-mail: [email protected]
www.kinderhospiz-muenchen.net
Donation account: Liga Bank Munich; IBAN DE59 7509 0300 0002 4001 03; BIC GENODEF1M05