Your contact person

 

Regina Hohmann
NCT Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 460
69120 Heidelberg

Phone: +40 6221 56-36146
fundraising@nct-heidelberg.de

150 signs of compassion

18/07/2022


Last week, we again welcomed representatives from the Heidelberg International Women's Club (HIWC) with a large load of gift donations. This time they had 150 heart pillows and many socks in their luggage. Last December, we welcomed the club members with a generous donation of self-sewn cushions and knitted socks - apparently they didn't take a break after that, but continued sewing straight away!

 

The heart cushions, all in colourful patterns, are also provided with a small message. In this way, the seamstresses want to tell those affected directly that they wish them all the best and hope that the cushion will be able to bring some relief.

A heart pillow always helps in two ways: on the one hand, the pillows pressed under the arm can reduce the pain after an operation, and on the other hand they show compassion and solidarity. Heike Wachow, Head of Outpatient Clinics and Patient Management at the NCT Heidelberg, was also very happy about the pillows and has already distributed some in the last few days. The NCT team would like to thank all members, namely Rebekka Klingshirn, Marcella Vermeer, Sandra Stapela and Lesley Klewinghaus!

Social responsibility at all levels

29/06/2022


Thermo Fisher Scientific employees have been supporting the NCT Run for many years. This year, the company has also become an official sponsor. We are very happy about this and had a conversation about the run, social commitment and the advantages of virtual and hybrid formats.

 

When and how did you first come into contact with the NCT Run?
Many colleagues had been taking part in the NCT run themselves for years and at some point suggested joint participation within the company. This is how the participation of Thermo Fisher Scientific employees increased over the past years and we are pleased to be able to support the run and thus the projects of the NCT as a sponsor this year. Many of our colleagues work at more than 27 locations. In this respect, the virtual character of the event has made access possible for many runners in the first place, so that colleagues worldwide can now also participate.

 

Is there a particular motivation for Thermo Fisher to support our charity run?
Thermo Fisher Scientific has an overriding goal: we want to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Especially in the health sector, we see ourselves as a strong partner in research and development and also in in vitro diagnostics. In addition, the topic of "social responsibility" is also very important, both for the company itself and for the individual employees, which is why we are very happy to support the NCT run and the associated projects.


How many employees does Thermo have and how do you try to inspire your employees to participate in the NCT Run?
In Germany alone, there are over 27 locations with over 5000 employees. Globally, the company has grown to about 130,000 colleagues. The interest in participating in the NCT Run is mainly fostered by our employees themselves, who, for example, engage in employee-led groups on various areas of interest and topics, such as equal rights for women in the workplace, diversity & inclusion and the exchange between different generations in the workplace. These provide a great opportunity and platform to network with each other and also raise awareness of events such as the NCT Run.


For the future, virtual participation should also be possible in addition to the big event in Heidelberg. We would like to cultivate the worldwide community of supporters for the NCT Heidelberg and together set a strong example. Against this background, is it an advantage for your company if the NCT Run is (also) organised as a virtual charity run?
Since Thermo Fisher Scientific is a company with employees worldwide, the virtual access to the NCT Run offers many people the opportunity to participate and run. Therefore, we welcome the fact that the run will also take place in the future, at least as a hybrid event. Nevertheless, such an event is particularly alive through the experience and work on site and the personal connection to one's fellow human beings, especially to those to whom this charity run is dedicated and should benefit.


The donations collected from our charity events go entirely to innovative projects for treatment and research at the NCT Heidelberg. These projects could not exist in this form without the support of our donors. What requirements does a project/idea/cause need for you to be willing to donate?
I can say that I and my family are in a very privileged position compared to many people around the world when it comes to our health and our environment. Therefore, it has always been our concern to provide appropriate support at different points. We consider both the immediate need for support and the corresponding personal interests of the family members, but also a certain trust in the organisation to which support flows.


One of the areas of application at TF is mentioned as "cancer research" and in this area you talk about "our commitment to you in this partnership". What does a support you describe for your clients on their research journey usually look like?
Personally, I have had the privilege of supporting our customers for over 15 years in various roles in the life science sector, working with my various sales teams to ensure that our customers' staff saw Thermo Fisher Scientific colleagues as partners in equipping laboratories and designing projects. In my current role in clinical diagnostics, the proximity to the patient is even more immediate, and my teams ensure that diagnostic laboratories can provide time-critical and sometimes vital diagnostics to their partners around the clock.


Do you already know where you will be running for the NCT Heidelberg this year?
"Brieselang"
"At the Baltic Sea on holiday"
"In Wetzlar, while I am on a canoeing weekend with friends and family"
"Near the Thermo Fisher Scientific site in Kandel".

The life tastes beautiful

08/06/2022

When relatives or those involved create something very personal to support the NCT Heidelberg as a way of saying thank you, it is always particularly moving. Christian Holderbach is one such family member. The passionate hobby cook took a discussion with his friend about the correct preparation of a spaghetti Bolognese sauce as an opportunity to record recipes in a cookbook. But this cookbook was intended to do more than simply give others a taste for delicious cooking.

With the help of his wife, the banker wrote, photographed and designed the 15 recipes for his cookbook and finally sold it for a good cause. This raised 877 euros for the NCT Heidelberg, which his employer, Sparkasse Heidelberg, topped up to 1111 euros. The first edition of the cookbook was sold out in a short time and remains - at least in printed form - a limited edition. Christian Holderbach is already working on his second cookbook, which will again be sold for the benefit of the NCT Heidelberg. We say thank you very much for this extraordinary, creative and also delicious contribution to the fight against cancer.

From heart to heart

11/01/2022

The Heidelberg International Women's Club (HIWC) brought early Christmas presents to the NCT Heidelberg this week: 130 heart pillows, as well as dozens of cuddly socks, scarves and caps were in the luggage of the club members, all handmade by themselves, of course, as well as students of the Carl Bosch School Heidelberg. With this they prove extraordinary commitment! The NCT thanks them very much!

Photo: Friederike Hentschel

The heart pillows are a very special concern for the members of the IWC: a few years ago, a member of the association himself received such a pillow at the NCT and therefore knows first-hand how helpful such a companion is. These pillows can relieve pain after breast surgery by being placed in the armpit. In addition, a heart pillow is a strong sign of sympathy and emotional support.

Heike Wachow, Head of Ambulance and Patient Management at the NCT Heidelberg, who has already been distributing heart pillows and other handmade attentions at the NCT since November, and the NCT Fundraising Team were very happy about the visit of the IWC, represented by Rebecca Klingshirn, who is in charge of the project, as well as Christine Funke, president of the association, Ulrike Näumann, charity coordinator, Marcella Vermeer and Julia Rais-Morres. And the date could not have been better chosen, because the last heart pillows had just been distributed.

The women of the IWC have grown so fond of sewing the pillows that they have already decided to continue with it next year. The NCT would like to thank all participants for their efforts and looks forward to welcoming them again next year!

Protect what you love!

16/12/2021

This was the motto of this year's Design Challenge of the Mannheim-based fashion label PHYNE and the insurance company CosmosDirekt. With this great slogan they wanted to set a sign for cohesion, love and confidence in the middle of the pandemic together with designers. And the best part: all profits will be donated. Among the winners is the designer Alexander Rozmann from Heidelberg. We are happy that he has decided to donate the profits to the NCT Heidelberg and want to say thank you!

One of the winner designs

The Design Challenge, in which T-shirts, bomber jackets, sweatshirts or hoodies could be freely created under the motto "Protect what you love", ran between April and May 2021. Since summer, the winners have been working with Phyne on the development and production, and now the first products are available for sale on their website.

The designer convinced the jury with a jacket called Story. What‘s so special about it is that  you can distribute patches on your own and thus personalize it,  it’s like a canvas. It's also slightly sheer, so it shows a bit of your favorite jersey or homemade t-shirt while wrapping it protectively. Since PHYNE also attaches great importance to sustainability, they only produce on order and will start shipping in early 2022.

We would like to thank Alexander Rozmann and the project initiators for this extraordinary and creative support. The donations help to enable important research to fight cancer at the NCT! For this we say thank you!

Spreading warmth in the cold season

29/10/2021

Autumn has been particularly cold and foggy during the last weeks. All the brighter shone the cordiality of the students of the Technologie- und Berufsbildungszentrum Bensheim, that had a very special donation for the NCT Heidelberg: 14 boxes, completely filled with heart pillows, 201 in numbers! All sewn by the trainees for home economics. However, there was one additional box. This one was filled with sweet little teddy bears for ANKKER, an advice center for children of parents with cancer.

Handing over of the heart pillows by the Berufsbildungs- und Technologiezentrum Bensheim
The team of ANNKER receiving the Teddys
 

The colourful pillows, each with a lovely greeting, not only comfort patients in a hard time, they can also be placed near the armpit to relieve pressure and other recovery pain. They are more than company, they are a valuable aid in postoperative care.
The Fundraising Team received this wonderful donation together with Ms. Wachow, who was already looking forward to distributing them among the patients.

Claudia Schneider and Dr. Christina Sauer from the psychooncological advice center were very delighted by this awesome student’s project as well! The numerous, fluffy teddys, each one with an individual birth certificate, will be handed over to children, whose parents received a cancer diagnosis and hopefully serve as a bastion of calm in these hard times.

The NCT thanks the Berufsbildungs- und Technologiezentrum Bensheim a lot - especially Ms Weber, Ms Wandner and Ms Koch, who put their heart and soul over months into this project. Their donation is a direct support for the patients and will surely put a smile on a face that has to endure so much pain.

bbwjugend on the run against cancer

18/10/2021

There are numerous ways to show social commitment. And the youth of the Beamtenbund Baden-Württemberg (bbwjugend) knows many of them. That is why they supported this years NCTRun. Under the hashtag #wirgegenkrebs 30 members participated with handmade jerseys and took a stand against cancer! Thereby they could acquire 500€ that Julia Nußhag and Andre Geiss proudly handed over to the NCT fundraising team.

Julia Nußhag signing the cheque for the NCT
Handing over of the cheque by the bbw-jugend

The NCT is a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), united in the vision of a world without cancer. The generous donation of the bbwjugend supports innovative cancer research at the NCT Heidelberg and draws attention to thousands of destinies. Because cancer is still a severe diagnosis.

The bbwjugend took the NCTRun as a chance to support health-their individual health and the one of those who suffer cancer. Because they know by heart: on your own you can accomplish a lot but way more when in a group!

The NCT is really grateful for their donation and is looking forward to seeing some of them next year at 11.NCT RUN again!

Space for conversations and quiet moments

29/07/2021

A cancer diagnosis is a serious topic, and conversations between patients and their attending doctors are an important element of cancer treatment. At the NCT Heidelberg, there is now a new setting for this: thanks to a donation made by the company Affimed, four alcove sofas in different locations within the building offer an undisturbed and sheltered ambiance for conversations – for patients and medical staff, but for casual exchanges among colleagues or patients as well.

One of the donated sofas

The new sofas are more than a simple seating area: not only do they create a comfortable ambiance for conversations, but they may also serve as a discreet haven for a short phone call or an individual moment of silence. The donation was made by Affimed in commemoration of Chief Financial Officer Dr Florian Fischer, who passed away in 2020. At the same time, this acknowledgement benefits all patients and staff at the NCT as well.

Anniversary run three times around the world

NCT-Run 2021

20/07/2021

They ran on all seven continents and covered a distance of more than 125,000 kilometres: from July 2 to July 4, over 7,000 participants got moving in the virtual NCT-Run. Many of them contributed impressive and inspiring posts on social media, taking family and friends with them onto their personal running track, and making the NCT-Run come alive. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors as well as numerous individual donations, the NCT Heidelberg benefits from over 50,000 Euros towards cancer research.

For the second virtual NCT-Run with the slogan NCT-RUNning against cancer: Alone. Together! the supporters of the NCT Heidelberg showed once more that they stick together. All ages between three and 93 years were represented for this year’s ten-year anniversary, and many participants added up their kilometre for the good cause by registering as one of over 300 teams. Be it sports club, family project, or organised participation among colleagues: every single kilometre was an important contribution towards the amazing end result, no matter whether it was run during a marathon or casually walked in the park.

A special reward was prepared for all those who lent a face to this year’s NCT-Run: among all posts with #nctlauf or #nctrun on social media, as well as all personal running memories submitted via email, 25 lucky winners were drawn and will receive a limited NCT run package.

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Two donations and heartfelt sympathy

08/07/2021

There is no lockdown for cancer: this year, many patients fight both the disease and the pandemic. For two groups of Year 8 students from Theodor-Heuss-Realschule Walldorf as well as a group of Year 8 students from Kurpfalz-Realschule Schriesheim, this provided additional motivation to contribute to the support of breast cancer patients at NCT Heidelberg in the form of their projects. The overall more than 60 heart pillows, which were handmade in class, are valuable aids in postoperative care.

Handing over the heart pillows
Handing over the heart pillows

Every step of the project, from research to planning, choosing suitable materials, and the actual sewing progress, was taken care of by the respective student group, resulting in more than 60 individual heart pillows that were now handed over to the NCT. The pillows facilitate the healing process of breast cancer patients: for example, they can be placed near the armpit to relieve pressure and other recovery pain. Ultimately, they also provide emotional support in a challenging life situation, as each pillow is symbolic of the students' sympathies. At the Theodor-Heuss-Realschule Walldorf, the topic of cancer was taken on in the class "Everyday life, nutrition, and social affairs" for the second time already; the Kurpfalz-Realschule Schriesheim contributed for the first time.

NCT "Takte gegen Krebs" 2020: House Concerts

Two cellists at Takte gegen Krebs 2020

11/12/2020

Takte gegen Krebs turned into Takte gegen Krebs: House Concerts. Thousands of supporters enjoyed our festive concerts, which were played on location at our founding institutions and livestreamed on our social media accounts. The grand finale consisted of a concert evening at the NCT Heidelberg with a special guest.

We started off with two smaller concerts at our founding institutions (German Cancer Research Center and University Hospital Heidelberg) on December 9 and 10, which were filled with festive sounds with the support of the Collegium Musicum of Heidelberg University.

The grand finale consisted of a concert evening at the NCT Heidelberg on December 11, with Ksenija Fedosenko and Caroline Werkle (cello), University Music Director Michael Sekulla (piano), and Kathrin Christians (flute) offering to the audience an early Christmas present. Further contributions came from many musicians of the Collegium Musicum who were unable attend on location, but who were nevertheless part of the (virtual) concert. The concerts were presented by Mirko Spohn.

For the first time, anyone interested could attend our Takte gegen Krebs concerts – free of charge via live streams on our social media channels, and comfortably from their own home. Check out the recordings here.

 

Climbing the hills for cancer research: personal fundraising campaigns by NCT Heidelberg employees

30/09/2020

Usually, Reinhard Liebers works with his colleagues to coordinate all scientific and clinical processes at the NCT Heidelberg. Constantin Pixberg is a medical doctor and scientist of medicinal oncology at the NCT. This summer, however, they rose to a spectacular challenge during their time off: They were determined to raise donations for the NCT on their bikes.

Constantin Pixberg on his bike

Reinhard Liebers was determined to ride the altitude difference of Mount Everest, 8,848 meters, in one continuous bike ride over the course of one day. He reached his athletic goal on Saturday, July 18, and was rewarded by his numerous supporters with a total sum of 4,260 € in donations towards the NCT Heidelberg.

Constantin Pixberg went above and beyond too: he especially supported "the research and implementation of individualised therapies for patients who were diagnosed with incurable breast cancer" and on August 15 rode a total altitude difference of 9,151 meters. With this achievement, he continues to collect funds until the end of the year.

Heroes of Heidelberg: the virtual NCT Run 2020

Dr. Friederike Fellenberg and Andreas Klein of NCT Heidelberg

04/09/2020

This year, the charity run organised by the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg could not take place in its usual form – instead, a virtual run was organised, which is now portrayed in the celebratory anthology "Heidelberger Helden" ("Heroes of Heidelberg").

Since the beginning of the year, our society has been subjected to an extraordinary endurance test by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless – and because of it – these are times of notable solidarity and readiness to help others.

The regional photo and interview project "Heidelberger Helden" ("Heroes of Heidelberg") is dedicated to people who displayed optimism and determination throughout this crisis, who demonstrated "solidarity, altruism, and responsibility". Their faces and stories are collected in this anthology which includes 108 portraits, greetings, and scientific guest contributions. NCT Heidelberg and its virtual charity run are part of this project. All proceeds support charitable and social organisations in Heidelberg.

Virtual NCT Run: three times around the world for cancer research

29/06/2020

The weekend of June 26 to 28 saw 8,976 runners taking a stand in the fight against cancer in the charity run of the NCT Heidelberg.

Team of the Neumayer III Station in the Antarctic

The virtual NCT Run was an international one, with people making athletic contributions in all seven continents. Participants ran a total of about 120,000 kilometers. Sponsors SAP and Prominent as well as supporters, the Klaus Tschira Stiftung and Affimed, made additional donations of more than 40,000 Euros based on the distance ran by participants. Together with numerous donations and fundraising campaigns, a total of about 75,000 Euros were raised towards cancer research at NCT Heidelberg.

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