The weather is cool but dry this Wednesday morning. Exactly right. In front of the entrance area of the house of the Unterföhring neighborhood help, helpers heave boxes with groceries onto tables. A woman sorts food from the refrigerator into a box. In the middle of it all, Susanne Vazzoler is scurrying about with a list in her hand, grabbing a hand here and giving instructions there. Everything has to be ready in half an hour. Then the first people come to get food here at the Unterföhring table.
The Unterföhringer Tisch, the table for the needy in the media community in the north of Munich, is by no means the only task that Vazzoler has in mind. Papers are piled up on the desk in the neighborhood help office; Applications, letters, bills. “There is always something to do,” says Vazzoler and laughs. The trained paralegal has been involved with the association for more than 30 years and has been its chairman for 13 years. Together with her deputy Hans Kritzinger, Vazzoler organizes a wide range of support, from second-hand sales at “Shoppen im Schuppen” and the “clothes hanger” to driving services, domestic help and food deliveries for seniors, childcare and playgroups for families to short trips.
A helper sorts the groceries that have just been picked up from the supermarket.
(Photo: Florian Peljak/)
Neighborhood help currently has 251 employees, “but most of the work is done on a voluntary basis,” says Vazzoler. The two chairmen easily add up to 240 working hours a month, although they actually have a part-time job with neighborhood help. But if you are the contact person for everything and everyone, you are always on the job. And the work is fulfilling, emphasizes Vazzoler. “To this day, I’m always happy when I come back from vacation and get to work again,” she says. “Every day brings a different challenge,” says Kritzinger. “The nice thing is that people are also grateful for what you do.”
“I’m the emergency nail for everything.”
The municipality of Unterföhring also shows their gratitude. She awarded Vazzoler the Citizen’s Medal this year on behalf of all the neighborhood help. Mayor Andreas Kemmelmeyer (non-partisan electorate) praised Vazzoler as the driving force behind the organization for her “almost tireless strength”, great enthusiasm and her far-sightedness. Everyone who has anything to do with them feels the energy of the leadership duo. Vazzoler is convinced that you can only lead an association like the neighborhood help if you know all the roles. Every Friday she drives to the supermarkets that donate goods for the Unterföhringer Tisch, loads boxes and maintains contacts. Almost all the shops in town are now taking part, and the Allianz canteen has been delivering hot food for the table since 2015. If necessary, the boss also grabs the cleaning bucket, cooks for everyone or serves in the café. “I’m the emergency nail for everything,” says Vazzoler.
For five years, the neighborhood help has been running the “Café Valentin” in the front building, which, with its cheap lunch dishes, wants to be a “second living room” for seniors in particular, as Kritzinger says. There is a warm meal and a coffee here, as well as time and space for dice, playing cards or chatting. Twice a year, Kritzinger and his choir hold an open rehearsal for guests who like to sing along. During the lockdown due to the corona pandemic, Vazzoler and Kritizinger quickly made food to go for the regular customers from the lunch menu.
The Café Valentin in the front building of the neighborhood help is intended to be a “second living room” for seniors.
(Photo: Florian Peljak/)
Such creative solutions also characterize the work of the association. When Vazzoler noticed that many senior citizens could not put on the first corona masks on their own because they could hardly raise their arms behind their heads, volunteers in neighborhood help designed and sewed new models. They have developed the “Christkindlmarktfonds” (Christmas Market Fund) for short-term financial assistance: the neighborhood assistance gives people who need it an interest-free loan, for example for new glasses. The repayment takes place in small steps, depending on the individual possibilities. Because experience shows that many older people find it difficult to ask for help out of shame, Vazzoler and Kritzinger try to speak to people themselves and point out possible support options. A keen sense and her close network help. A high chair for a young family with little money? Is organized quickly. Skilled hands for mask sewing? Already found. “And if I don’t know what to do myself, then I know who to ask,” says Vazzoler.