Volkshilfe

Volkshilfe (Volkshilfe Österreich) is a non-profit, non-partisan and non-denominational welfare organization in Austria. It was founded on 21 March 1947 in Vienna as an independent charitable welfare association, with Luise Renner, wife of then Federal President Karl Renner, as co-founder and first elected president, and Josef Afritsch as first executive president. Its earliest work focused on the post-war population suffering from hunger, unemployment and inadequate healthcare. Today Volkshilfe operates as both a professional social service provider and a social movement. Its fields of activity span care and nursing, poverty reduction, labour market policy, childcare, disability work, humanitarian and disaster relief at home and abroad, and asylum and migration work. The organization is structured as a federal association of nine independent regional organizations (Landesorganisationen) with their own financial responsibility, coordinated by Volkshilfe Österreich with its office in Vienna. The first six regional organizations were founded in 1947; Volkshilfe Vorarlberg, the ninth, followed in 1954. According to its own figures, Volkshilfe employs around 9,000 staff and engages around 25,000 volunteers and helpers, describing roughly 34,000 people in total as the heart of the organization. It runs facilities including senior homes, day centres, mobile care and 24-hour care, refugee facilities, childcare institutions and labour-market projects. Internationally it is present in countries and regions such as Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Haiti, India, Moldova, Nepal, the Philippines, Ukraine, Western Sahara and Northern Iraq. Volkshilfe is traditionally regarded as close to the SPÖ, historically the counterpart to the ÖVP-affiliated Hilfswerk Österreich, a legacy of Austria's post-war proportional democracy. It campaigns prominently against poverty, especially child poverty, and has run initiatives such as "Armut tut weh", "Kinderarmut ist kein Märchen", the Schulstartaktion, THARA for Roma and Sinti integration, and "solidART for refugees". Its leadership includes President Ewald Sacher (since 2019) and Federal Managing Director Erich Fenninger (since 2003).

Volkshilfe Österreich was founded on 21 March 1947 in Vienna as a non-partisan, non-profit welfare association. Its first tasks focused on the population suffering from hunger, unemployment and inadequate healthcare after the war. Co-founder and first elected president was Luise Renner, wife of then Federal President Karl Renner. The first executive president was Josef Afritsch, with Ferdinanda Flossmann and Willi Forst as vice-presidents. Other founding members included Theodor Körner, Johann Böhm, Hilda Schärf, Josef Holaubek, Maria Matzner, Bruno Kreisky and Marte Harell. In the same year, 1947, the first six regional organizations were founded in Vienna, Salzburg, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria and Carinthia. Volkshilfe Vorarlberg, the last of today's nine regional associations, was founded in 1954. In the immediate post-war period the main focus was on combating acute, war-related hardship. From 1950 onward numerous new priorities were set: childcare facilities were established, care for people in need of nursing was offered, along with legal advice, refugee assistance, and disaster and development aid at home and abroad. Over the decades Volkshilfe developed into one of the five largest organizations of free welfare work in Austria. It is traditionally regarded as close to the SPÖ and thus the counterpart to the ÖVP-affiliated Hilfswerk Österreich, a legacy of Austria's post-war proportional democracy in which the two largest parties integrated free welfare work into their respective socio-political environments. In 2004 Margit Fischer was won as patron for the campaign "Armut tut weh" (Poverty hurts), a campaign against poverty in Austria, and she has been involved with Volkshilfe since. Since 2005 the Volkshilfe initiative "THARA" has worked for the integration of Roma and Sinti into the Austrian labour market. In 2013, with the help of Volkshilfe Österreich, Volkshilfe Greece ("Laiki Voithia Hellas") was founded. For the 2014 campaign "Kinderarmut ist kein Märchen" (Child poverty is no fairy tale), children's and youth book author Thomas Brezina was won as a testimonial, and he has since supported Volkshilfe projects against child poverty, including the Schulstartaktion. During the ongoing refugee crisis, Volkshilfe founded "solidART for refugees" in September 2015, an initiative of artists and intellectuals. As the first action of this project, Volkshilfe organized a large solidarity concert for asylum seekers titled "Voices for Refugees – Solidaritätskonzert für ein menschliches Europa" on 3 October 2015 at Vienna's Heldenplatz. Live acts included Die Toten Hosen, Zucchero, Konstantin Wecker, Bilderbuch and Conchita Wurst. It was attended by over 100,000 people with free admission. In terms of structure, Volkshilfe consists of nine independent organizations with their own financial responsibility in the Austrian federal states. Volkshilfe Österreich, based in Vienna, acts as the central coordination body and is responsible for nationwide agendas; it is de jure a federal association of associations registered in the association register. Josef Weidenholzer was president from 1991 to 2015; Barbara Gross served as president from 2015; Erich Fenninger has been federal managing director since 2003. In May 2019 Ewald Sacher was elected president at the federal conference. In 2009, to organize the donations sector and international work, "Volkshilfe Solidarität" was founded; this association holds the Austrian donation seal of quality. In 2014, around 9,000 employees and 25,000 volunteers worked for Volkshilfe across Austria, including in 29 senior homes, 8 day centres, mobile care and 24-hour care, as well as 42 refugee facilities, 133 childcare facilities and around 40 labour-market projects.

• 2019

  Ewald Sacher elected president at the federal conference in May.

• 2015

  Barbara Gross becomes president; "solidART for refugees" founded; "Voices for Refugees" solidarity concert at Heldenplatz attended by over 100,000.

• 2014

  Campaign "Kinderarmut ist kein Märchen" with Thomas Brezina as testimonial.

• 2013

  Volkshilfe Greece ("Laiki Voithia Hellas") founded with help from Volkshilfe Österreich.

• 2009

  Volkshilfe Solidarität founded to organize donations and international work.

• 2005

  THARA initiative for Roma and Sinti labour-market integration begins.

• 2004

  Margit Fischer becomes patron of the "Armut tut weh" campaign against poverty.

• 2003

  Erich Fenninger becomes federal managing director.

• 1991

  Josef Weidenholzer becomes president (until 2015).

• 1954

  Volkshilfe Vorarlberg founded as the ninth and last regional association.

• 1950

  New priorities set: childcare facilities, care for people in need of nursing, legal advice, refugee assistance, disaster and development aid.

• 1947

  Volkshilfe founded on 21 March in Vienna as a non-partisan, non-profit welfare association; first six regional organizations founded.

Non-profit, non-partisan, non-denominational welfare organization and social movement; traditionally SPÖ-affiliated; advocates for people without a lobby, especially those affected by poverty, unemployment, care needs or disability.

• Mobile Pflege (mobile care)

  Mobile nursing and care services for people in need of support.

• 24-hour care

  Round-the-clock care services.

• Senior homes and day centres

  Residential and day-care facilities for older people.

• Childcare facilities

  Childcare institutions operated by Volkshilfe.

• Refugee facilities

  Facilities for refugees and asylum seekers.

• Labour-market projects

  Socio-economic enterprises and projects for unemployed people, youth, people with disabilities and apprentices.

• Volkshilfe Solidarität

  Association organizing donations and international work; holds the Austrian donation seal of quality.

• Volkshilfe Beschäftigung

  Association for the employment sector in Vienna.

• 2015solidART for refugees
• 2014Kinderarmut ist kein Märchen
• 2005THARA
• 2004Armut tut weh
• Schulstartaktion
• Kinderarmut Abschaffen

1. 1Startseite – Volkshilfe Österreichvolkshilfe.at
2. 2Geschichte – Volkshilfe Österreichvolkshilfe.at
3. 3Über Uns – Volkshilfe Österreichvolkshilfe.at
4. 4Team – Volkshilfe Österreichvolkshilfe.at
5. 5Volkshilfe – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Volkshilfe Österreich – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org