You often hear of people who devote their entire lives to do good; people who improve the world a little bit day by day; people who with their selflessness represent the silent and true heroes of our society.
When you meet these kinds of people, or hear about their projects, it is often difficult not to question some of one's own life choices and priorities. You starts asking yourself why one does not support others more actively, why one does not find the time to participate in social projects, or why one does not help to improve the life of others more often. This also happened to us. We are no heroes, and there are countless others who possess a much stronger social conscience. Nonetheless, as a family we decided in 2014 to show a greater social commitment and to put our own humanity into action with the hope to share pieces of it with others; the beginning of the story of our Future Kids Foundation was made.
When you meet these kinds of people, or hear about their projects, it is often difficult not to question some of one's own life choices and priorities. You starts asking yourself why one does not support others more actively, why one does not find the time to participate in social projects, or why one does not help to improve the life of others more often. This also happened to us. We are no heroes, and there are countless others who possess a much stronger social conscience. Nonetheless, as a family we decided in 2014 to show a greater social commitment and to put our own humanity into action with the hope to share pieces of it with others; the beginning of the story of our Future Kids Foundation was made.
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Should we create a foundation or a charitable association?
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This question is one we also asked ourselves. In the end we, opted for a foundation, as the longevity of it allows us to offer our family a tool to do good long into the future and to come together and work on various projects across time and generations. We also hope that the creation of our foundation encourages others to do the same, and to use the resources one has as an individual or as a family to help improve the world a little bit, foundation after foundation.
Why "Humanity and Tolerance"?
Nelson Mandela and Reinhard Mohn are two heroes of different societies, who with their values were able to win over the masses and us. They spoke of tolerance and humanity as two of the most important virtues and basic elements of a functioning society and being human. As a foundation, we wish to continue and spread these values.
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From left to right: Tino Elgner, Yvonne Elgner, Gerlind Elgner, Frank Elgner
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No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. - Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)
Why "Future Kids"?
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Who are we?
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Parenting and education are the most powerful weapons one can use to change the world; to make society more humane and tolerant, one must start to promote and convey these values to children. Hence, it is close to our hearts to not only improve the futures of some children, but to also show them that through humanity and tolerance they can help others in the future.
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A primary school teacher, a former military pilot, physical therapist, and a director of admissions; a family with ups and downs; the four Musketeers, and probably not much different than you and your family.
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What is our idea for the future of our foundation?
Our foundation is still in its infancy stage, but our goal is to build it in a way so that it allows for 5 aspects to take place; we plan:
- To create and implement projects that focus on job creation, so that we can help others to help themselves.
- To convince companies and businesses to donate one Future Kids Cent per each product sold to support our causes.
- To turn Future Kids, who we were able to help with our foundation, into ambassadors to establish a culture of giving and taking.
- To offer co-founders, donors, and Future Kids the option of actively participating in projects and to decide how and where the foundation operates.
- To create a network of Future Kids beyond national borders.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. - Confucius