“So much dedication is anything but self-evident”
Bavaria’s minister for health and care, melanie huml, presented the "female angel" award in selb on thursday awarded to ten burghers from upper franconia. Special honorary commitment in the fields of health and care was thus honored.
Among the honorees was uwe rendigs, whose commitment is to children with cancer. Since 2010, he has been chairman of the foundation for children with cancer in coburg.
Huml described the volunteers as "role models for humanity in action. It’s people who take responsibility for others. This commitment deserves great recognition". The minister added that almost one in two people in bavaria is committed to the common good, making the state one of the best in the country.
A matter of the heart
Rendigs himself has experienced all too often the serious effects that a child’s cancer can have on the entire family. It has therefore become a matter of the heart for him to support children with cancer and their parents, huml explained in his laudation. Rendigs and his foundation call for projects aimed at improving the chances of cure, treatment methods and quality of life for children with cancer.
Over the years, he has built up a functioning network and works closely with banks, psychosocial support centers, clinics and health insurance companies. He also lobbies employers for solutions that best suit the individual situation of the families concerned. Huml: "so much commitment is anything but self-evident!" His foundation is also active beyond the coburg region, for example in the counties of lichtenfels, kronach and habberge.
He has particularly close ties with the hospitals in erlangen, wurzburg and jena. His foundation supports the research projects of the clinics with considerable sums of money, the minister made clear.
In addition, the foundation is committed to the establishment of a bone marrow donor registry and to further training in the field of oncology.
The "female angel" award is awarded annually in each government district – this time in upper franconia. The honorees are involved, for example, in hospice work, community work with seniors and in self-help groups, or are committed to helping the mentally ill.
In upper franconia, the following were honored: heinrich edelmann from hof, gabriele grunthaner from bayreuth, horst hillmann from ebrach, helga kern from kulmbach, rosa komander from ebrach, barbl luthardt from lichtenfels, uwe rendigs from coburg, heike schulz from bayreuth, birgitt stang-farnung birgitt from eggolsheim and sister felicitas weigel from hallstadt.
