Back to the charity

Herzenswünsche e.V.

Herzenswünsche fulfills dreams and wishes for seriously ill children

Herzenswünsche is an association acting in Germany, fulfilling dreams to seriously ill children and youths. Those can be meetings with celebrities, stays at a pony farm, a hot-air balloon ride or a nice birthday party - each wish is fulfilled individually and with lots of engagement.

The story of Herzenswünsche begins in the year 1989. In this year, the best friend of Wera Röttgering, the founder and chairwoman of the association, came down with cancer. In order to bolster her up and to give her hope in the hard battle against the severe illness, the businesswoman from Münster propose to her friend to start an initiative that would help people in similar situations. The idea to found an association which would help seriously ill children and youths with the fulfillment of their dreams and give them new courage to face life was born.

The first dreams have been fulfilled in the ward for children's cancer at the University clinic in Münster. The children were very happy about the offer, reaching from visits at the zoo until riding lessons at a farm. Soon, representations in other cities followed. Today, about 70 voluntary and three full-time employees work for the association. They are always in contact with more than 100 hospitals all over Germany and learn about the heartfelt wishes of the small patients. Many thousand wishes have been fulfilled in the last years and celebrities from sports, showbusiness, politics and companies, institutions and associations have helped.