Organisation

Our association

On September 11, 2002, Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe was founded in Freiburg. Part of the team from the very beginning and still passionately working to advance our cause: Nicole Reinbold, Alexander Gross and Stefan Rivald.

Eleven full-time employees are currently part of the association structure, including two local employees in India and Bangladesh. The association's organs are the board of directors, the board of trustees and the general assembly with eight members. Two auditors supervise the board in the areas of finance and asset management.

Team der ersten Stunde: Stefan Rivald, Nicole Reinbold und Alexander Gross.

Team Freiburg

The southwest German city of Freiburg has been the seat of our association from day one. Our team in Freiburg consists of nine permanent employees (six of them part-time). They are responsible for the management, the development and coordination of our aid projects, the procurement of funds (fundraising) and donor support.

Alexander Gross

Chairman / project development

alexander.gross@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-18

Andrea Weiberg

Managing director

andrea.weiberg@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-15

Ulrike Claassens

Donor relatiosn

ulrike.claassens@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-11

Natalie Edelmann

Foundations

natalie.edelmann@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-23

Lotta Hansen

Working studen

lotta.hansen@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-20

Philip Hehn

Project assistance

philip.hehn@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-16

Stefanie Huter

Project manager Latin America

stefanie.huter@spaltkinder.org

Veronika Mainka

Foundations

veronika.mainka@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-17

Femke van Praagh

Fundraising

femke.van.praagh@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-13

Nicole Reinbold

Foundations

nicole.reinbold@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-14

Stefan Rivald

Project administration

stefan.rivald@spaltkinder.org

+49 761 137976-12

Board

The board of directors of Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe consists of four members. The operative board of directors, as per § 26 BGB, has been resolved by the general assembly of the association to consist of Alexander Gross as chairman of the board and Andrea Weiberg as managing director. Alongside the two honorary board members, Prof. Dr. Frank Feyerherd and Thomas Schneider, they form the entire board.

Prof. Frank Feyerherd (honorary board member)

Frank Feyerherd was an anesthesiologist at the University Clinic in Greifswald until he retired and now works in a private clinic. He managed our Cameroon project in Ngaoundéré for more than ten years. As an anesthesiologist, improving the anesthesia conditions and thus the safety of the surgeries is of particular concern to him.

Thomas Schneider (honorary board member)

"Corporate Social Responsibility" is a personal commitment for entrepreneur and master tanner Thomas Schneider. As the founder of ISA TanTec, a group of tanneries with locations in China, Vietnam, the USA and Italy, he is committed to environmentally friendly processes in leather processing. He has been a member of the board of directors since 2013.

Alexander Gross (chairman of the board)

Alexander Gross, founding member of Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe, manages the association's affairs in full-time in addition to his work on the board. The former Bundesliga professional ice hockey player studied sociology, education and politics in Freiburg. He started his professional career in Switzerland, where among other things he worked as a consultant for non-profit organizations.

Andrea Weiberg (managing director)

Before Andrea Weiberg became part of the Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe team in 2018, the business administration graduate with a focus on marketing worked in various companies and advertising agencies. Looking for a meaningful job, she joined Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe and has been responsible for our fundraising and communications ever since. She was appointed Managing Director effective August 1st, 2021.

Auditors

Ute Henninger-Sehling and Dr. Christian Rüsch support the association with their expertise as auditors in a honorary capacity. They supervise the board of directors in financial matters and exercise control over the association's asset management. Christian Rüsch is a founding member of the association since 2002.

Ute Henninger-Sehling

Economist

Dr. Christian Rüsch

Economist / Tax advisor

Board of trustees

The board of trustees of Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe e. V. supports the board with technical expertise. The six honorary members have in-depth experience in the field of cleft lip and palate treatment from various disciplines.

Dr. Dr. Oliver Blume

Specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery and dentistry

Dr. Ulrike Lamlé

ENT specialist, general practicioner

Prof. Götz Ehmann

Specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery and plastic surgery

Prof. Jürgen Dieckmann

Specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery and dentistry

Gunther Au-Balbach

Specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery

Dr. Jos van den Hoek

Specialist in dentistry and orthodontics

Indispensable: our volunteers

Individual projects are supervised by German doctors on a voluntary basis. They support our partners on site with their expertise from various disciplines. In addition to routine project evaluation, these assignments also serve to promote cultural exchange and are an important token of recognition for our partners.

Dr. Ulrike Lamlé during an aid mission in Tando Muhammad Khan on 25/26 February 2022.

Dr. Emma with the "Jungle Boys", Dr. Dr. Oliver Blume and Gunther Au-Balbach. The aid mission of Oli and Gunther took place from 19-27.3.2022 in Rwamagana/Rwanda, 26 patients were operated.

PD Dr. Daniel Lonic (right) and PD Dr. Dr. Denys Loeffelbein (left) with Prof. Lun-Jou Lo during a joint aid mission in Vietnam.

Dr. Martin Andreas visiting our project in Costa Rica.

Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe Foundation

The Stuttgart oral and maxillofacial surgeon Heinz Lübbe († 2015) shaped the development of Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe for many years as our honorary president. Shortly before his death he established the Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe Foundation.

Helping and healing in the long term – that is the motto of the foundation. Again and again we meet children with a particularly serious deformity who need special care. Multiple complex surgeries and long-term therapy are often required. We fund these individual cases with the income of our foundation.

Should you be interested in becoming part of our community of supporters, you can find more information here.

Heinz Lübbe was not only an excellent doctor - he was also a visionary and worked for our association as an energetic manager. He was committed to ensuring that cleft children in developing countries have access to qualified and comprehensive treatment. The establishment of the foundation was his last major initiative, which he tackled despite serious illness.