Alle kommen mit! (Everyone comes along!)
The a&o educare support fund for participation in school trips.
Travelling together – because no child should be left behind! The a&o educare e. V. support fund helping families in need – so that their children can take part in school trips.
Class outings, project days or end-of-school trips are a real highlight of the school year for many children and young people. They strengthen togetherness, create lasting memories – and develop social skills beyond the classroom. But not all families can afford these special moments.
With the project “Alle kommen mit” (Everyone comes along), a&o educare e. V. is committed to ensuring that financial constraints do not decide who gets to take part. Our support fund enables children and young people from low-income or socially disadvantaged families to take part in school trips – quickly, specifically and without red tape.
What we want to achieve
Our goal is clear: no child should have to stay at home for financial reasons. The fund is aimed at families facing acute or long-term hardship and is intended to provide concrete help where regular funding is insufficient or comes too late.
The fund is, of course, open to everyone – regardless of origin, religion or residence status.
Funding is expressly provided regardless of how the trip is organised. So it makes no difference whether the trip is booked through a professional school trip operator or organised independently (e.g. by a teacher or the school).
Funding is also independent of the type of accommodation – so it makes no difference whether the group stays in a hostel (from any provider), a youth hostel, a school field-study centre, a Naturfreunde house, a religious education centre, a hotel, a campsite or, for example, on a ship.
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We need donations!
Every contribution helps – whether small or large!
The project is limited to the total amount of donations received for it.
You can make your contribution quickly and easily via an online donation form.
Would you like to donate as a company?
Then simply indicate this in the donation form and you will be sent a donation receipt from a&o educare e. V. (recognised as a charitable organisation).
(This of course also applies to private individuals who need a donation receipt)
How we help
We provide fast, unbureaucratic financial support. Applications are reviewed carefully but quickly.
The Board of a&o educare e. V. carries out an initial review, and the final decision is made by the advisory board set up specifically for the project.
The advisory board includes a lawyer as well as representatives from the church and from a professional association for children’s and youth travel.
Further information on the advisory board >> here
Together for equal opportunities – help make sure everyone can come along!
Our support fund relies on donations. With your support, you help ensure that all children have the same opportunities for community, participation and shared experiences – regardless of how much money their parents have. Because school is more than lessons. And no child should be left out – not even on the school trip!
How does it work?
Anyone can contact us via an easy-to-complete online form:
- parents or legal guardians
but also, for example, grandparents or other relatives - teachers who want to help the parents concerned
- youth welfare organisations that need support for the families concerned
In the form, please provide your contact details, information about the planned trip (project days, school trip or similar) and a short, clear description of the funding need and the amount required, attaching documentation / evidence if possible – done! If we have any questions, we will of course get back to the applicant straight away.
The application is reviewed and the advisory board decides on it (by written circulation procedure). Quick and unbureaucratic!
The detailed funding conditions can be found >> here to download
Only in justified exceptional cases do we support applicants who already receive support from the German federal government’s "Education and Participation Package (BuT)" (often simply called the "education package").
This programme usually covers the full cost of outings and multi-day school trips for low-income families. Applications for it must be made in good time!
As a rule, the "Education and Participation Package (BuT)" supports families receiving
- citizen’s income (Bürgergeld – basic income support for jobseekers) or social allowance (Sozialgeld)
- housing benefit, child supplement, social assistance (assistance with living costs) or benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act
Further information on the Education and Participation Package (BuT) can be found >> here
The a&o educare support fund is therefore not primarily aimed at families whose school trip costs are already covered by the BuT, but rather at those affected in acute or long-term situations of hardship with financial consequences, which mean that, for children and young people to take part in project weeks or school trips, the cost cannot be met, or can only partly be met, by the family itself.
Details of the funding criteria can be found in our detailed funding guidelines (in German):
 | Funding guidelines (download, German) Foerderrichtlinie.pdf (188.22KB) |
| Foerderrichtlinie.pdf (188.22KB) |
“One of our pupils very nearly had to stay at home because her family simply couldn’t afford the three-day trip to Weimar. I filled in the online form for “Alle kommen mit”, briefly described the situation, named references – and within just a few days the funding was approved.
No lengthy application process, no begging, just fast and straightforward help. For the girl, it was the first time she had ever been able to go on a trip lasting several days. That is exactly what makes “Alle kommen mit” so valuable: children are not excluded because of how much money their parents have.”
Petra K.
Teacher at a comprehensive school in North Rhine-Westphalia
“I lost my job shortly before my son’s school trip. Suddenly there was an expense that I simply couldn’t manage.
I submitted an application through “Alle kommen mit” and of course contributed a share myself – the fund covered the rest.
The decision came quickly, without red tape and without me having to feel ashamed. My son was able to go as if nothing had happened. It is precisely in acute situations like this that the fund makes all the difference.”
Michael T., father
in temporary financial difficulty after losing his job
APPLICATION REJECTED – DONATION FUND EXHAUSTED:
“I had submitted an application for two pupils at our special needs school. Unfortunately, it was turned down because the donations available for this funding period had already been used up at that point. Of course, that was disappointing at first. But the rejection came quickly, was clearly explained and very respectfully worded.
It made me realise: the fund relies entirely on donations – it can only do as much as is actually paid in.
That is exactly why I think it is important that more people and companies hear about this project and support it. I continue to stand behind the idea with full conviction.”
Julia S., Berlin
APPLICATION REJECTED – PRIORITY OF THE EDUCATION PACKAGE (BUT):
“I had applied to “Alle kommen mit”, but was told that our family was already entitled to have the travel costs covered by the education package (BuT).
The fund is deliberately designed to rank behind such benefits, so that donations go where no one else helps. That makes perfect sense to me, and I was even given help with submitting the BuT application correctly.
In the end, my daughter was still able to go – just by a different route. I think the approach taken by “Alle kommen mit” is very fair and responsible.”
Nadine F.
Recipient of Education and Participation Package (BuT) benefits
“As a single mother of three children, I have to think twice about every euro.
When my daughter’s school trip came up, I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it. I heard about “Alle kommen mit” from her class teacher and filled in the online form.
Everything happened very quickly and – which was especially important to me – without me having to justify myself or my daughter noticing anything. She was able to go with her class as a matter of course. For me, it was an enormous relief and a real matter of dignity in what was already a tense situation.”
Hannah G.
single mother of three school-age children
ACTIVE PROJECT DONOR:
“As a school trip operator in particular, we unfortunately see it time and again: individual children cannot come along for financial reasons.
That is why we support “Alle kommen mit” with donations. What convinced us most is that the fund is completely neutral – it does not ask which operator a trip is booked with or where the group is staying. All that matters is that a child can take part. That is equal opportunity in practice, which benefits our entire industry, and we are pleased to support the a&o educare team in this.”
Markus S.
Head of department at a school trip operator
(all testimonials are illustrative examples)