This year, the joint pizza baking of Leichlingen Hilft e.V. was once again a complete success. As part of the Art & Sound Mile, numerous children, young people and adults were able to design their own pizza to their heart’s content and then enjoy it fresh from the oven. Many families took the opportunity to spend time together, meet new people and talk to each other.
Our goal was once again to create a place where encounters are possible in a very uncomplicated way. When baking together, origin, language or age did not play a role – the focus was on togetherness, fun and community. It was particularly nice to see the creativity with which the pizzas were designed. Whether heart, guitar or your very own fantasy shapes – each pizza was truly unique.
More than 100 pizzas in five hours
Between 1 and 6 p.m., well over 100 pizzas were baked together at our stand. Our pizza oven was in continuous operation throughout the event. As soon as the first pizzas came out of the oven, the next ones were rolled out, spread with tomato sauce, topped and put back into the oven. So there was a lot of activity at our booth throughout the afternoon.
We were very pleased with the great demand and showed how popular the campaign has become in the meantime. It was particularly nice that people of all ages participated. Our youngest participant was just two years old, the oldest participant 78 years old.
It was also a matter of course that people with and without disabilities stood together at the table, rolled out dough, topped pizzas and got into conversation with each other. People from different backgrounds and different generations spent time together. It is precisely moments like these that show what Leichlingen Hilft is all about: experiencing community, breaking down barriers and connecting people with each other.
Since the temperatures were summery, we also distributed drinking water free of charge to our visitors. Especially on a warm day, this was a welcome refreshment and was gratefully accepted.
A big thank you to our supporters
Such an action would not be possible without the support of local companies and social institutions.
Our special thanks go to the Pizzeria am Stadtpark and the Pizzeria Evergreen. Both pizzerias generously supported us with pizza dough, pizza sauce and cheese . Thanks to this great support, we were able to make pizza baking possible for all visitors free of charge. This commitment shows once again how important cohesion between clubs and local companies is for a lively coexistence in Leichlingen.
We would also like to thank the social department store Globolus, which provided us with the electricity for our pizza oven during the entire event. Without this uncomplicated support, the implementation of our campaign in this form would not have been possible.
Volunteering makes the difference
A big thank you also goes to all the volunteers of Leichlingen Hilft. Whether it was setting up, preparing the ingredients, rolling out the dough, at the pizza oven, looking after the visitors or dismantling – many committed people contributed to ensuring that the day went smoothly. This commitment is not a matter of course and deserves great recognition.
We would also like to thank all visitors. The many nice conversations, the positive feedback and the beaming faces made this day a very special experience for us. It is precisely these encounters that show how important community events are for togetherness in Leichlingen.
A wish for the future
Despite all the joy about the successful campaign, we would still like to express a wish.
We would have been very happy to be represented together with the other clubs in the Stadtpark or on the Brückerfeld. This year’s location in Neukirchener Straße was clearly separated from the rest of the association’s activities. From our point of view, a club day thrives on the fact that clubs are close to each other, support each other, visitors can easily go from stand to stand and new contacts are made.
We would therefore like to see this aspect taken into account in the planning of future art and sound miles. From our point of view, a joint placement of all clubs would significantly strengthen the character of the event and make the diverse voluntary commitment in Leichlingen even more visible.
Community that connects
The Art & Sound Mile has once again shown how much joy joint commitment can bring. While baking pizza together, countless beautiful encounters were created. Children, parents, grandparents and many other visitors laughed, baked and ate together. People helped, talked to each other and made new contacts – this is exactly how we imagine lived community.
Our heartfelt thanks once again go to the Pizzeria am Stadtpark, the Pizzeria Evergreen, the Globolus social department store, all the volunteers and the numerous visitors who made this day something special.
We are already looking forward to many more campaigns where people can come together regardless of age, origin or impairment and experience beautiful moments together. Because that’s exactly what Leichlingen Hilft e.V. stands for – helping people, hand in hand.
