Active seniors Bavaria
| Active seniors Bavaria | |
|---|---|
|
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| legal form | registered association |
| founding | 1984 |
| founder | Heinz Herrmann |
| Seat | Munich |
| main emphasis | Voluntary advice for start-ups and small and medium-sized companies, accompaniment of high school students in their job, introduction of university students in entrepreneurial thinking |
| Action space | Bavaria |
| Chair | Reinhold Heiss, Achim Schneider, Gerhard Weiß |
| Members | 440 (2020) |
| Website | aktivsenioren.de |
The Aktivsenioren Bayern are a non-profit association in Munich that advises start-ups and small and medium-sized companies on all business issues on a voluntary basis.
About the association
The well over 400 members are former entrepreneurs, executives, specialists or freelancers who want to pass on their knowledge and experience and thereby serve society. They keep this knowledge up to date through training and internal advanced training. In more complex cases, teams of consultants are put together. Neutrality and independence are among the principles of active seniors. Membership in this association is free of charge. The three-person board consists of Reinhold Heiss (spokesman), Hans-Joachim Schneider (IT) and Gerhard Weiß (finance). The main topics of the consulting work are business start-ups and business security , company management , business model analysis, company succession and digitization. Since 2020 the association has also been running the funding project "Pretty Best Entrepreneurs", the aim of which is to develop the entrepreneurial potential of people with disabilities. All consultations are - as voluntary - free of charge. However, the association charges a small fee to finance the office in Munich.
further activities
Educational projects of the association
The active seniors have also been involved in education since 2006. They work as trainers for young people in public schools, universities, technical colleges, vocational and adult education centers as well as in educational centers. They provide the final classes in secondary schools with up-to-date, practical information for starting a career; Students and master aspirants are trained in entrepreneurial thinking and prepared for independence. Numerous active seniors in the Middle Franconia region are also involved in the “The Reading Cook” project developed by an association member. With the help of a computer-aided reading program, pupils with poor reading skills not only learn to read correctly and fluently, their success also translates into real enjoyment of reading. This program is now successfully implemented in more than 15 Middle Franconian schools with the help of over 40 reading mentors.
Self-image of the association
Under the motto “Our experience for your future”, the association provides help for self-help for medium-sized businesses and as a trainer for young people. The active seniors see their strength in the diverse specialist knowledge of the members, the broad professional experience and the complete independence of the consultants. In school and university projects, the orientation aid for schoolchildren and students when choosing the right apprenticeship or career path is the focus.
Media coverage of the club
The perception of active seniors in public and in the media has improved significantly since 2017. Awards such as the Luise Kiesselbach Prize (2017) from the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband and the six-time award of the Federal Cross of Merit to deserving members also contributed to this. The press reports regularly about the active seniors and their projects. Examples from the media review on the AS website:
- Win-win situation for everyone (Mein München)
- The start-up helpers for success in professional life (Main Post)
- There is a lot that older people can pass on (Münchner Merkur)
- Assistance for young founders (Nürnberger Nachrichten)
- Life experience helps young entrepreneurs (Munich Stock Exchange)
Clients or those interested in becoming a member become aware of the active seniors thanks to press articles, the homepage or network partners. Word of mouth also plays a major role. Twice a year the association organizes a seminar for new members to familiarize them with the self-image, the values and the working methods of the association.
Working method of the association
Potential clients make initial contacts at the information and consultation days that are held regularly in all 10 regions. In the regions, these consultation days usually take place in the district offices. Business start-ups who set up out of unemployment are usually referred to the association by the employment agencies . The association's regions are largely independent in their activities, but central responsibility for finances and bookkeeping lies with the Munich office.
history
Beginnings
In October 1984 seven committed senior citizens founded the association “Aktion Seniors help young Existenzen Bayern e. V. “It was her aim to make her knowledge and experience available to young entrepreneurs free of charge in order to prevent their early failure. The association was given its current name two years later. Business activity developed so rapidly that as early as 1995 branch offices were established in all government districts, which today are an expression of the association's decentralization. At the fall of 1989 , the association was given the mandate to act in an advisory capacity in the new federal states.
Consultant activity in the new federal states
Under Economics Minister Günter Rexrodt , the Economics Ministry relied on senior citizens' associations and their wealth of experience in order to close the gaps in the private and public advisory networks. The AKTIVSENIOREN BAYERN eV were immediately ready to tackle the task east - in the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The "New Federal States" working group was founded under the direction of Max Mühlbauer (later Karl Wydra). Of the 100 members at the time, around 40 were active in the East by summer 1995.
Recent past
The association also endeavors to constantly increase its sphere of activity and to broaden the fields of action by maintaining contacts and networking with a wide variety of associations (including the Association of Bavarian Business), public and private institutions. Above all, cooperation with the Confederation of the Self-Employed , the employment agencies and the municipal funding institutions was intensified . Contacts with universities, technical colleges and research centers were also expanded. For new fields of consulting - e.g. B. Business model analysis, corporate succession and digitization - advisory guidelines have been drawn up in internal working groups and interested members have been comprehensively trained. Bavarian district offices are now looking for support for active seniors in advising on issues of process optimization and increasing the efficiency of non-profit organizations.
Member recruitment
In order to be able to offer the consulting services in satisfactory quality across the board in all regions, the search for new qualified members has high priority for the association. From 2019, the gaps in the network of consultants are to be closed, especially in the regions of Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate, parts of Upper and Lower Franconia and Swabia. Retirees and retirees not only find a fulfilling task and a new challenge in voluntary advisory work or involvement in educational projects; Thanks to the wide range of training courses offered by the virtual active senior academy, members can also continue their education and expand their knowledge. The newcomers are instructed by experienced members and introduced step by step to the advisory work. After an increase of over 10 percent in 2018 alone, the number of members has increased continuously to over 400, of which 9 percent are female. The IT and educational projects working groups are headed by women, who are increasingly represented in the management teams in the regions.
30th and 35th anniversaries
In May 2015, the association subsequently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a small ceremony and in the presence of Emilia Müller , the Bavarian State Minister for Social Affairs, Labor, Family and Integration. Numerous guests , friends and supporters of the active seniors accepted the invitation. Minister of State Müller praised the voluntary commitment of the senior citizens and their valuable socio-political contribution. In autumn 2019, the association celebrated its 35th anniversary with a well-attended festive event in Augsburg's town hall.
Web links
- Official website
- Nuremberg educational institution Smart
- Federal working group of business seniors Old helps young
Individual evidence
- ↑ Carola Kaps: Chronicle. (As of February 2020). Active Seniors Bavaria e. V., accessed on February 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Siegbert Rudolph - The recipe for learning to read. In: der-lesekoch.de. Retrieved April 5, 2016 .
- ↑ Dominik Graf: Win-win situation for everyone. In: Mein Muenchen - Business Blog. October 30, 2018, accessed on February 18, 2019 (German).
- ↑ The start-up helpers for success in professional life. December 4, 2018, accessed February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Age researchers: "There is a lot that older people can pass on". November 7, 2018, accessed February 18, 2019 .
- ^ Ella Schindler - Nürnberger Nachrichten: Assistance for young founders. In: Nürnberger Nachrichten. Nürnberger Nachrichten, October 5, 2018, accessed on October 6, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Munich Stock Exchange: Life experience helps young entrepreneurs. Retrieved February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ District Office Erlangen-Höchstadt: Active Seniors. In: www.wirtschaft-erh.de. March 7, 2016, accessed April 5, 2016 .
- ↑ Active seniors offer their help on the information day. In: mainpost.de. Retrieved April 5, 2016 .
