The Wings of Hope Foundation is an ecclesiastical foundation with legal capacity under civil law according to articles 21 and 1 (paragraphs 1 and 2) of the Bavarian Foundation Act. It was founded in 2003 and is based in Munich.
The Wings of Hope Foundation pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes in the fields of public health care and international understanding.
Foundation supervision is exercised by the Regional Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.
Wings of Hope is a member of the Association of German Foundations.
The foundation currently employs seven staff members and focuses primarily on operational activities.
Our History
The idea for our work was born in 1994 during the Bosnian War. In view of the first war in Europe since the World War II, the board of the Reconciliation Church of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial wanted to set an example of peace. Under the name Wings of Hope they organized help for the children of Sarajevo.
In 2003, the project became a foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. Our statutes specify that the foundation is “especially committed to the legacy of the former prisoners of Dachau, in order to give new impetus to reconciliation between peoples and generations”.
Our name goes back to a child’s painting from Sarajevo: A little girl who had been driven from her home had painted butterflies. She called the picture “Butterflies Live Shortly”. The picture touched people so much that they organized help. They called themselves Wings of Hope.
Statutes
Interview with the Founders of the Wings of Hope Foundation
Our organization was founded by trauma therapist and retired deacon Peter Klentzan and regional bishop Thomas Prieto Peral. In this interview, they talk about how it all began and take a look into the future.
