Free religious community opens "MainBären" daycare center with Mayor Sabine Groß

The Free Religious Community in Offenbach officially opened its new "MainBären" daycare center in Bürgel on Friday, January 16. Mayor Sabine Groß gladly accepted the invitation from community leader Ulrich Urban, managing director Christoffer Stier and daycare center director Stephanie Heun-Rhein. "The expansion of childcare capacity was and is a central concern of the city and a focus of my work. Committed providers such as the Free Religious Community make an active contribution to this by not only creating childcare capacity, but also offering parents a real choice through their various educational concepts," emphasized Groß in her speech and continued: "I am delighted about the new opening, which represents a special milestone for me, as it marks the 1,000th newly created daycare place since I took office in 2018."

Pastor Pascal Schilling took those present on a journey through time and described how the free religious movement took up Friedrich Fröbel's pedagogical ideas, which were emerging at the same time in the 1840s, and founded its own kindergartens early on. In Offenbach, the "Kita Sonnenschein", the first freireligious daycare center, was established in Erlenbruchstraße in 2006. Today, there are 370 places in the city, and the "MainBären" on Anneliese-Heikaus-Straße is the community's fifth daycare center. 124 children will be cared for there in the future, and children with special needs are also welcome in the inclusive approach. A small group of 23 children has been romping around the building since December, as daycare center manager Stephanie Heun-Rhein reports. She and her team are currently developing the educational concept.

During the tour of the building, the mayor was also able to see for herself the high ecological standards in the new Mainbären building. The facility, designed by Mathis architects, is powered by a modern geothermal heat pump and solar collectors, the roof areas are greened, there are even plans to grow fruit and vegetables there in the future and a large cistern has been installed to irrigate the green areas.

Managing Director Christoffer Stier praised the excellent cooperation with the Offenbach Youth Welfare Office. Its employees put their heart and soul into the project, are always approachable and are always solution-oriented when challenges arise. His conclusion: "Just as it literally takes a village to raise a child, it takes a city to build a daycare center."