Memmingen Crematorium donated in July 2016 an amunt of 27,000 euros to various projects in Memmingen involved in youthwork, safety and training. Under the watchful eye of Mayor Ivo Holzinger, Stefan van Dorsser, CEO of Memmingen Crematorium, handed over a total of 27,000 euro.

Memmingen volunteer fire brigade received a portion of this to buy a number of items which it needed. Also the Förderverein Reichshainschule special-needs school was given a cheque for various things (table football, jungle gym, basketball hoop), and the Zollergraben kindergarten received a cheque to purchase outdoor games equipment. Cheques were also given to other associations in Memmingen and the locality, including the Animal Protection Association, the local Traffic Controllers and the Bismarck school, BBZ vocational training centre and Johann-Bierwirth school.

Memmingen Crematorium
“Since the opening in 2006, Memmingen crematorium has played an important role in the lives of many people in Memmingen and environs”, said Henry Keizer, CEO of ‘the Facultatieve Group’. “Based on this role and our sense of social responsibility, it therefore gives us great pleasure to contribute to these worthy projects that benefit all residents of Memmingen.” The Memmingen Crematorium – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – opened its doors in October 2006 on the Waldfriedhofstraße 4a. With many years of experience and its vast pool of expertise, ‘the Facultatieve Group’ guarantees that funeral ceremonies at Memmingen crematorium are handled with the respect they deserve. Key to this is an optimum service with scope of personal input to fulfil the wishes of the deceased and those they leave behind.

(Foto: Wehr/Pressestelle Stadt Memmingen)

With donations totalling around € 300,000, the Royal Dutch ‘Facultatieve’ Stimulus Fund supports a variety of different charities, projects and initiatives:

• The Dutch Service Dog Foundation (hulphond.nl) is now able to train ten extra therapy service dogs that will be used to help 160 children in 2016 and 2017.
• The Dutch Victim Support Fund (fondsslachtofferhulp.nl) is receiving a donation for the ‘Life after the MH17 air disaster’ project.
• The ‘Oranjehotel’ Foundation (oranjehotel.org) is receiving a contribution to set up a memorial centre at the ‘Oranjehotel’ war memorial.
• Thanks to the support of the Royal Dutch ‘Facultatieve’ Stimulus Fund, ‘Gasthuis’ Hospice in Groningen (gasthuisgroningen.nl) can now purchase a ‘stand-up-chair’ to improve its guests comfort levels.

For further information: www.aanmoedigingsfonds.org

At the beginning of June, Niederrhein Willich Crematorium organised an early summer regional meeting for funeral directors and their personnel. This informal meeting was very well attended. Many funeral directors were surprised by the many unique options available at Willich, which very few crematoria in Germany are able to offer.
Niederrhein Willich Crematorium provides the option of expressing condolences after a ceremony. The crematorium has a number of very stylish areas for this purpose with extensive gastronomic possibilities, including catering for larger groups.
After a tour of the crematorium, visitors were introduced to a number of the gastronomic possibilities and stayed to chat with business contacts and colleagues.

Dieren Crematorium, part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’, organised its first public participation evening on 17 February 2016, so that anyone who was interested was able to come to the Crematorium without having to make an appointment. There was a lot of interest and visitors were positive about this new initiative.

Personal consultations
Dieren Crematorium had organised this event in order to answer the questions that are important to people. “I wanted to know if Dieren had the music I would like to have played at my own funeral. I had a look with one of their members of staff and it turns out they do have it. So that’s one concern less for me. I’m so happy with this”, says one of the visitors. This type of evening is very important to another lady: “I wanted to view the auditorium without being disturbed and take some pictures. I want to show them to my husband, who’s seriously ill. It’s extremely sad, but I’m glad we can organise his goodbye like this. And this is something you want to do in a personal consultation and when it’s quiet, like tonight.”

The Noord-Holland hiking network recently compiled a new route in the area of Driehuis. This also takes hikers along Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium – part of ‘the Facultatieve Group’ – which, in addition to a memorial park, is also a beautiful walking area.

A walk through Westerveld Memorial Park is very special. This former ‘country place’ was purchased by a number of prominent residents of Amsterdam who set up a cemetery in this location. Famous landscape architect Zocher was responsible for the design. These days, you can walk along beautiful paths, surrounded by a green oasis of tranquillity. Allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the lush vegetation and special monuments. Nearly one hundred and fifty years of cultural history in a unique, hilly dune area; worth exploring.

Petit Café Westerveld
Petit Café Westerveld, a pleasant café where visitors and hikers can have a drink and a bite to eat, can be found at the entrance of Westerveld. The café offers a special hiker’s menu, which you can enjoy just before your walk across Westerveld, or when you want to take a well-deserved rest afterwards.

Route
The walk is 6.25 km and starts and ends at Driehuis station. You can find the walk here. This website also provides more information about the route and the hiking network – an initiative of collaborating municipalities and site managers in the province of Noord-Holland.