Campaign
"Give joy"

Well over 20,000 people in Karlsruhe live at subsistence level, with unemployment benefit II, basic income support or a small pension. Families with many children, single parents, older people, chronically ill and disabled people as well as homeless people and asylum seekers are particularly in need of support. In recent years, the need of many people has increased as a result of the coronavirus crisis and current developments. Christmas is a difficult time for these people, and not just because of their limited financial resources - many live alone and spend the holidays without family or friends. The "Giving Joy" campaign is intended to send an ecumenical signal that people in poverty and need should not be left alone.

How can I take part in the campaign? 

You can obtain a bag from the distribution points listed below. Please fill the bag with nice things (e.g. sweets, tea, candles, toys, care items such as creams, etc.) and hand them in to your parish office or one of the distribution points by December 1, 2024. Please do not wrap the contents of the bags.

Issue and acceptance points

• Caritas Association | Sophienstraße 33
• Déjà-vu | Windeckstraße 7
• Diakonisches Werk | Reinhold-Frank-Straße 48a
• Kashka | Karlstraße 56
• Fashion house Schöpf | Am Marktplatz
• Modehaus Nagel | In Durlach - Pfinztalstraße 57
• SIXT car rental at Siemens Industrial Park - Siemensallee 84
• Genuss Heck | Rheinstraße 57, 76185 Karlsruhe
• Tourist-Information | Im Schaufenster Karlsruhe - Kaiserstraße 72-74, 76133 Karlsruhe
• and in selected dm drugstores as well as allProtestant parish offices and Catholicparish offices

Fundraising campaign

If you can't or don't want to fill a bag, you can also donate to this campaign:

Diakonisches Werk Karlsruhe
Sparkasse Karlsruhe,
Keyword "Freude schenken"
BIC KARSDE66XXX,
IBAN DE03 6605 0101 0108 2061 37

About the "Give the gift of joy" campaign

The "Giving Joy" campaign has been around since the early 1950s. Back then, the bags were mainly distributed in the post-war refugee camps in Karlsruhe. Today, 8,000 empty bags are distributed every year, of which around 6,000 come back filled.

The aim is to raise awareness of the fact that a city's quality of life depends not only on its economic strength, its cultural, sporting and gastronomic offerings, but also on how the people in this city live together. The weakest members of a community are always a sensitive indicator of this. And they experience their social exclusion particularly intensely at Christmas.

The bag can become a symbol that these people are not forgotten in Karlsruhe. That especially at Christmas, but not only then, socially disadvantaged people are taken into our midst, in the communities, clubs and groups, in the neighborhood, in the homes and on the streets. Giving joy can mean taking an hour to lovingly fill a bag. But a friendly conversation, an invitation to a cup of coffee or a walk together can also bring some light into the darkness of people who are on the dark side of life.

This is where the interests of the city of Karlsruhe meet the goals of Caritas and Diakonie: to draw the attention of Karlsruhe residents to those who are on the margins of our community and want to be included in our midst - because only then will a city become liveable and lovable for everyone.