Caritas home collection

From door to door in the service of a good cause

The proceeds from the home collection will benefit the learning cafés, among other things.(Bild: Caritas Vorarlberg/Philipp Mück)

In March, around 400 volunteers will once again be going through the communities in the province to collect donations for Caritas Vorarlberg. All of the donations will go towards social projects in the province.

The people of Vorarlberg are said to be particularly charitable. However, the donations have become somewhat smaller in recent years, as Walter Schmolly, Director of Caritas Vorarlberg, reported on Friday at the kick-off event for the home collection: "The overall trend is slightly downwards. This is also due to the fact that there are fewer collectors out and about. We simply feel that it makes a difference whether someone comes to the door and can explain what the money is being used for or whether the parish just sends out a letter."

Press conference on Friday at the start of the home collection.(Bild: Caritas Vorarlberg/Philipp Mück)

Every donation goes to a specific purpose
Although the Caritas home collection has been around since 1955, a few false myths still persist. For example, that the collectors receive a commission or that the majority of the donations seep into the "Caritas water head". The truth is that all of the money goes to specific social projects in the country. These include, for example, the 16 learning cafés in Vorarlberg or bridging assistance for families in acute emergency situations. A comparatively new project is the "Initiative Herz" - an offer for older people who suffer from loneliness. 

Sooner or later, everyone is dependent on help and everyone has something to give.

Walter Schmolly, Direktor der Caritas Vorarlberg

A society in which people look out for each other
For Schmolly, the home collection is also a living example of a society in which people look out for each other: "As different as the social emergencies were and are, the experience over these 70 years is that living together in the neighborhood and in the communities is a matter of give and take. Sooner or later, everyone is dependent on help and everyone has something to give. This caring attitude towards one another in a specific situation makes a real difference in the lives of individuals and communities."