Würselen, December 2009 
 
On the 23rd December, children and young people from “Maria im Tann”, the support centre in Aachen for children, young people, and families, once again took part in the traditional Christmas trip.
 
For 13 years now, two buses have arrived in the Centre on the day before Christmas Eve to take around 80 children to spend the day bathing and swimming at the Kölner Aqualand.
 
Everyone enjoyed this welcome change from the daily routine just as much as they do every year.
 

 
The children thanked Dietmar Halterbeck, manager of IBIS GmbH (formerly ProBack GmbH), with a gift shortly before their departure at midday. This year, they presented him with an aquarium the children had made themselves, and wished him good luck and success for the New Year.
 

 
 
“This fantastic aquarium will be given a place of honour in our offices, just as the thank you gifts in the past years have done, as they are displayed in our building. Supporting the Centre is more than just a social involvement for our business, but a matter which is close to our hearts,” explains Dietmar Halterbeck.
 
“Every child here has his own individual destiny, and although we are not able to reunite the children with their own families here in the home, we want to give them as wonderful a Christmas as possible. Last but not least, we thank IBIS for their help throughout the year, arranging fantastic trips and excursions and making things possible,” adds Stefan Küpper, director of the “Maria im Tann” centre.
 
 

 
IBIS chose the Kölner Aqualand because its great variety of pools and slides provide the ideal opportunity for fun for swimmers of all ages. The catering outlets at Aqualand allow the children to feast as often as they wish. Swimming makes people hungry.


 
Some of the children are “old hands” when it comes to the swimming trips, for example the visually impaired 17 year old Marco, who until now has gone there every year; or the Downs Syndrome sufferer Saskia.For others, it was the first such outing: 6 year old Lukas, only at the Centre for three days, turned into a water rat for the day. And this despite his previous anxiety in water.At the end of the day, the buses were there once again to take the children back to “Maria im Tann” – everyone extremely tired from much swimming and sliding, but with a great experience behind them and an extra big bag of sweet Christmas goodies in their backpacks.
 

 
 
Contact:

IBIS GmbH
Buschstrasse 34-36
D-52146 Würselen
Tel: 02405 4 87-0
Email: zentrale@ibis-backwaren.de
 
 
If you would like to support the Centre, please contact:
 
 

 
 
 
 
Maria im Tann
Zentrum für Kinder-, Jugend- & Familienhilfe
 
Unterer Backertsweg 7
D-52074 Aachen-Bildchen
Tel: 0241 70 50 50
www.mariaimtann.de