Every year in Germany, around 2,000 children and teenagers develop cancer. More than 500 of them will die regardless of treatment, and many more will have to endure the symptoms for the rest of their lives.
For many years the ALBA Group has been committed to battling cancer through a special foundation set up in 1997 by ALBA founder Franz Josef Schweitzer and a few like-minded people: "KINDerLEBEN - Verein zur Förderung der Klinik für krebskranke Kinder e.V." (the Berlin Charitable Foundation for the Clinic for Children with Cancer). And just a year later, a day clinic opened in the Charité university hospital in Berlin.
The foundation has established a research centre dedicated to investigating the causes of cancer and promising new treatments. The funds make it possible to grant many of the children's and teenagers' requests, ranging from new furnishings for the rooms, to books and toys for the younger patients. The Foundation also engages in many other helpful, practical activities - such as setting up home care arrangements for children with cancer. In doing so, KINDerLEBEN helps make life easier for cancer patients, while supporting their recovery.
For more than 20 years ALBA has been supporting KINDerLEBEN through various fundraising campaigns, where the entire proceeds – more than 2.9 million Euro – were donated to the foundation.