The Ark: a place for children to become strong

The consequences of inflation, which can still be seen in food prices today, and the slowdown in the German economy are particularly affecting the socially disadvantaged – and especially families with low household incomes. For this reason, Deutsche Börse Commodities has for many years donated to the children's foundation “Die Arche” (German for “The Ark”), which was founded in 1995. The donation in 2024 was more than doubled to €5,000 in view of the general rise in costs. In 2022, the Xetra Gold team also decided to organise a local Social Day on World Children's Day to make a first-hand contribution to the well-being of children. Since then, this has become a fixed annual date in the Xetra Gold team’s diary, and they didn’t not come to the Ark empty-handed this year either.

Pizza instead of spinach: that’s okay with the kids

A highlight of the day is, of course, that delicious pizza is served in quantities that ensure every child in the Ark gets a decent portion, which makes a nice change from the Ark’s usual well-balanced lunch, which it provides free of charge. Although spinach also tastes just fine, the Xetra Gold team is assured. Of course, the Ark’s work isn’t just about feeding children and teenagers, but also about supporting them. To this end, there are a number of programmes that are gratefully embraced by the kids.

Learning support and help with homework

In socially disadvantaged families, learning support for children and young people is often lacking. So this is another focus of the Ark's work. It was only logical that the Xetra Gold team should also get involved in this on Social Day: “The Ark is a place where the main aim is to prepare the kids for their future lives,” said Michael König, Co-Managing Director of Deutsche Börse Commodities, summarising the Ark’s voluntary work, “and we are very happy to help, not just financially”. The Social Day ended in the evening with the Xetra Gold team promising to return next year – with pizza, of course.