This is exactly where the UFO emergency youth shelter of the Social Initiative in Linz-Urfahr comes in. For 23 years, it has been offering teenagers and young adults aged 14 to 24 a safe haven when home is no longer viable. Arriving here means first of all: eating, showering, sleeping without questions and without bureaucracy.
Under the management of Meho Softic, the dedicated team creates an atmosphere in which young people can regain confidence. They can stay for up to three months per phase of their lives, cook together, talk and relax. What many people take for granted becomes an important resource here: stability, respect and a place where you can just be.
Support that makes a difference
As a long-standing partner of the Social Initiative, the Sparkasse Oberösterreich share administration is now supporting the UFO once again with a unique employee campaign. Employees of the Sparkasse Business Centre in Urfahr collected their bottle deposits over a period of months and donated the sum of 1,000 euros. What began as a spontaneous idea quickly became a living tradition: more and more empty bottles ended up in the donation box, and the contribution for young people in need grew bottle by bottle. And, of course, the campaign will continue.
"As the Sparkasse Oberösterreich share administration, we are committed to ensuring that people can live in dignity. Young people in particular need places where they can just be, without pressure and without fear. And they need people who give them the right support to shape their lives independently and with confidence later on," emphasises Herbert Auer, CEO of Anteilsverwaltung Sparkasse Oberösterreich.
#schongenial when small gestures like leaving a bottle deposit make a big difference. Especially when they support those who need it most.
