The Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) is a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the University of Heidelberg (Uni HD).
When plants begin to sprout and everything begins to turn green in spring, it's also time for a very special flower-themed campaign: From April 15 to May 12, under the motto "Give flowers. Donate hope.", flower stores throughout Germany will be selling flower creations for the benefit of children with cancer.
The campaign was initiated by the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), which wants to draw attention to the situation of affected families and the need for children's cancer research. "Young cancer patients have very different cancers to adults and many treatment approaches from adult oncology cannot be transferred to children," explains Olaf Witt, Director at KiTZ, Head of the Clinical Cooperation Unit for Pediatric Oncology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Senior Physician at Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD). "Around 80 percent of young patients in Germany can now be cured. However, the remaining 20 percent of young cancer patients do not survive the disease because standard therapies and new targeted drugs for adults are unsuccessful for the majority of these children," says Witt. "At KiTZ, we see our main task as advancing pediatric cancer research and developing new therapies for young cancer patients."
Flower stores and nurseries throughout Germany are taking part in the campaign. For every flower or plant sold with the campaign label, a donation is made to the KiTZ's children's cancer research. In recent years, the participating florists have collected a total of around 230,000 euros to help children and young people with cancer.
"I think it's wonderful to be able to support children with cancer and their families with flowers," says reigning floristry world champion Nicolaus Peters, who is also taking part in the campaign. "I hope many of my colleagues will join in and it will be a great success again this year!" The campaign has been supported by the Fachverband Deutscher Floristen e.V. and Fleurop AG since 2021. "This year, Fleurop AG is not only a supporter, but is also contributing a bouquet of flowers specially created for the campaign," says Christine Veauthier from Fleurop AG. For every "charity bouquet" that can be ordered online from the start of the campaign until the end of June, two euros will be donated to children's cancer research at KiTZ."
"Flowers are gifts that touch us and create emotional moments. The campaign is also a great opportunity for florists to give comfort and hope with their floral art," says Michael Rhein from the Executive Board of the Fachverband Deutscher Floristen e.V. Bundesverband "We are delighted to once again support this important campaign with our members."
Anyone wishing to buy flowers for a good cause can find the participating florists and further information about the campaign on the KiTZ website. During the campaign period, participating florists can use KiTZ's Instagram channels to describe what moves them about childhood cancer and which floral creations they sell for the benefit of children. KiTZ also offers information on the development, diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer.
Further information regarding the campaign „Blumen schenken. Hoffnung spenden.“ (Give flowers. Donate hope.):
