Our work is closely linked to medicine. We are committed to advancing processes in the healthcare sector and always develop our software solutions with a view to the requirements needed here. Therefore, we also know what this industry moves and achieves on a daily basis. To pay special tribute to this, we are opening an Advent door for the medical sector. A total of € 40,000.00 will go to Ulm University Hospital, which does great work for the region and beyond.

Of this donation, € 20,000.00 will go to the Clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicinewhich provides the youngest patients in our region with comprehensive and high-quality care, including in specialized areas, . In order to achieve the best possible results in treatment, the latest diagnostic and therapeutic concepts are always applied. To this end, the more than 400 employees work around the clock.

But the topic of research is also of enormous importance in understanding the mechanisms of diseases and further improving their treatment. We are therefore pleased that our donation will benefit the leukemia and tumor research groups. Here, among other things, approaches are being sought to overcome therapy resistance in leukemias, neuroblastomas and brain tumors. The research results obtained so far have already contributed to the development of new drugs in cancer therapy and are being incorporated into an international study group on the treatment of childhood leukemia. We are pleased to be able to make a small contribution with our donation to the Children's Hospital's so important research in the fight against cancer. The medical director of the Children's Hospital, Prof. Dr. med. Klaus-Michael Debatin, the head of the leukemia research group, apl. Prof. Dr. med. Lüder H. Meyer, and the two doctoral students Amina Hadzalic and Hannah Strobel were present at the symbolic check presentation.

A further € 20,000.00 will go to the KlinikSchulVerein Ulm e.V. of the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy. The clinic does valuable work to understand, educate and treat children and adolescents with mental illnesses and their families in the best possible way. Since the pandemic began, however, clinical care has faced particular challenges. Not least because children and adolescents with mental illness and their families have been most burdened by lockdowns and school closures.

Children of school age who are in long-term inpatient or day-care treatment at the Ulm University Hospital usually attend the Hans Lebrecht School. The Hans Lebrecht School ensures that the young patients can continue to experience a normal school day despite their treatment and thus do not lose their connection to school. In 2002, the KlinikSchulVerein Ulm e.V. (Ulm Clinic School Association) was founded to support the students with learning materials as well as with basic necessities such as clothing, trips home and the like. The help provided here goes beyond compulsory care and is intended to be as uncomplicated as possible. Here, too, social inequalities have become even more apparent since the beginning of the pandemic. In a second area of activity of the association, local artists carry out art projects together with the patients, which provide the children with special experiences and many great memories. Here, too, we are convinced that we can give something back in this way. The medical director of the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, Prof. Dr. med. Jörg M. Fegert, and the director of the Hans Lebrecht School, Ms. Dorothee Blaumer-Hänle, welcomed us to the rooms of the clinic school for the symbolic check presentation on Tuesday.

Sustainability, environmental and climate protection are not a private matter. As a company, we also bear responsibility and are working to advance these issues. We believe that sustainable corporate management always pays off in the end and that everyone benefits from it. With this in mind, we are opening an Advent door in our fundraising campaign for organizations that are involved in sustainability, environmental protection and nature conservation on a daily basis.

10,000.00 will go to the Ulmer Initiativkreis nachhaltige Wirtschaftsentwicklung e. V. (unw), which has set itself the task of strengthening ecological awareness in the region's business enterprises and among the population. In doing so, unw acts as an active mediator between business, science and society with the aim of working together, for each other and for a better environment. In addition to education, knowledge transfer and project management, the activities also focus on the promotion of educational measures in order to provide the knowledge for ecologically sensible actions and sustainable measures. The unw's concrete measures include the "Climate Trainees" project, which was launched in October and aims to raise awareness among young people starting their careers of the need for sustainable development and to support concrete commitment in their professional and private lives. In addition, unw organizes a variety of other projects as well as regular lectures and discussion rounds. For the symbolic handover of the check, we had the pleasure of welcoming the 2nd Chairman and Managing Director of unw, Kai Weinmüller, to our premises.

A further € 5,000.00 will go to the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz - BUND e.V. Donau-Iller Regional Association and the Ulm District Association (BUND). With the vision of a sustainable country in a sustainable and peaceful world, the BUND is committed to active environmental protection with various projects. These include, for example, the "Hermannsgarten" at Ulm's Kuhberg - a meadow orchard where old native varieties are specifically planted and cared for. Many children from Ulm visit the garden every year and, in addition to tasty apples, also gain valuable knowledge about nature. In addition, there are numerous other projects worth supporting around the topics of nature conservation and biodiversity, urban development, environmental development and more. For the symbolic check handover on Tuesday, the regional manager of BUND Jana Slave welcomed us to the Ulm office.

We also donate € 5,000.00 to the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union Germany Group Ulm/Neu-Ulm (NABU)which has been working for nature conservation in and around Ulm for many years. NABU's tasks include providing nesting aids for native bird species and caring for injured or orphaned found birds. In addition, tours, excursions and family afternoons are offered, which are open to all interested parties. Another, larger project is the nature reserve "Arnegger Ried" in the Blautal. The fen is a lowland moor that is home to many rare and endangered species. Part of the area is grazed by cattle in the warmer months, helping to restore the lowland moor character of the area. With this project, NABU shows that nature conservation and agriculture do not have to be opposites. At the symbolic handover of the check, a few of our employees were already allowed to take a first look at the Arnegger Ried. Also present were the volunteers of the local NABU Michael Rau, Julia Obenauer and Diana May.

All three organizations make a valuable contribution to our environment. We are convinced and grateful to make a small contribution with our donation.

Education is of great importance to our society. It plays a decisive role in determining life opportunities and guarantees cultural and social participation. The pandemic has shown that education is all too often not a matter of course and cannot be valued highly enough. That is why we are opening a "little door" of our Advent campaign for this so elementary area.

A donation of € 15,000.00 goes to the Education Network Ulm/Neu-Ulm. This cross-town project has set itself the task of networking schools and daycare centers with external cooperation partners. In this way, the various institutions are given the opportunity to take advantage of educational offerings in a wide range of areas - from sports and nutrition to the environment, culture and digitization.

One of the foundations for the network's work is the Ulm Education Initiative, which was launched back in 2000. A key guiding principle here is equity of opportunity, which encompasses both the promotion of children and young people, the relief of families and the integration of marginalized and at-risk groups. Mitigating the impact of pandemics has also become an important issue. One challenge in coordinating the collaborations is often the start-up funding for the individual projects. We hope that our donation will contribute to this important work, so that as many children and young people as possible in our region benefit.

The symbolic handover of the check took place in time for St. Nicholas Day on December 6 at Ulm City Hall. The head of the educational network Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Mrs. Monika Schmid, the second mayor of the city of Ulm, Mrs. Iris Mann, who is responsible for the departments of culture, education and social affairs, as well as the head of the department for education, culture, sports and social affairs of the city of Neu-Ulm, Mr. Ralph Seiffert, were present.

In addition, € 5,000.00 goes to other projects. These include the annual donations to our partner school, the Bertha-von-Suttner-Gymnasium in Pfuhl, and to the Verschwörhaus in Ulm. We also support the Erich-Kästner elementary school in Ludwigsfeld in staging a play.