Spitz receives the Staufer Medal

The ProKids boss is the first Schwenningen resident to be awarded this exclusive medal. The entrepreneur works tirelessly for his foundation. His baby hatch has already saved five young lives.

When he realized that not every family in this country could afford a hot school meal for their child, Joachim Spitz took action. He collected donations, tied an apron on himself with the then-mayor Dr. Rupert Kubon, and cooked spaghetti at the kindergarten. That was almost 15 years ago.

Now the energetic Schwenningen entrepreneur is receiving one of the highest awards in the state of Baden-Württemberg for his commitment – the Staufer Medal.

Only about 120 carriers

It is valuable because it is awarded relatively rarely. Only individuals who have made a significant contribution to the common good receive it. To date, there are only about 120 recipients, among them celebrities such as entrepreneurs Carl Duke of Württemberg, Reinhold Würth, Ewald Marquardt, astronaut Ernst Messerschmid, and the late Swiss television presenter Kurt Felix.

This makes the Staufer Medal even more exclusive than the State Order of Merit, which is limited to 1,000 living recipients and awarded approximately 30 times per year—despite being the state's highest honor. Also valuable is the State Badge of Honor, which finds approximately 400 new recipients annually. Spitz is one of the few residents of the twin cities to receive this prestigious award. Before him, the Staufer Medal had only been awarded to personalities such as conductor Gernot Laufer, former district administrator Dr. Rainer Gutknecht, and honorary citizen Ewald Merkle.

Active for many years

Anyone who, like Joachim Spitz (52), is awarded the Staufer Medal must have achieved merits that – according to the wording of the award guidelines – “were acquired beyond the actual professional duties in the context of a generally voluntary, social or civic commitment and were performed over many years.”

This undoubtedly applies to the chairman of the ProKids Foundation. Since Spitz founded it on a personal initiative in 2010, the owner of a Schwenningen printing company has worked tirelessly to help poor children and their families. The gifted networker has already received a number of social awards for this; the Staufer Medal, which Mayor Jürgen Roth will present to him in January at the Neckarhalle, is certainly the crowning achievement of his work. Spitz is extremely imaginative; just recently, he set up an online volunteer platform that helps bring together existing willingness to help and those in need in a structured way. Similarly pragmatic, he has – just like that – built a street workout park for Schwenningen's youth at the Vorderer See and founded a shared apartment for teenage mothers.

However, the core of the foundation's work remains the provision of hot school meals and the ProKids meeting place, a contact point for families in need.

Baby hatch of the “Lighthouse”

The flagship of the foundation's work—and Spitz's favorite project—is the baby hatch, which he had installed in the Franziskusheim on Neckarstrasse a few years ago. It has presumably saved the lives of five newborns who were left there. Joachim Spitz is particularly proud of this.

The baby hatch makes it clear how the designated recipient of the Staufer Medal works: He knows everything and everything and approaches people to win them over to his cause. He's good at it, and he almost always succeeds.



He doesn't just let others work for him, but also performs an immense amount of volunteer work himself alongside his entrepreneurial activities—you'd be hard-pressed to find a more efficient social manager. This is honored not only by numerous private donors, but also by entrepreneurs who appreciate what the man with the gray beard is doing as the "engine" of his foundation. ?

Mothers exchange ideas in the drilling tower at the ProKids Foundation's parents' café

Jumping around in the ball pit together, visiting a playground together – the toddlers enjoy the weekly meeting at the Pro-Kids Foundation's parents' café on the upper floor of the municipal youth center, Bohrturm, in Bad Dürrheim. A little over a year has passed since Joachim Spitz from the Pro-Kids Foundation in Villingen-Schwenningen, along with several mothers, opened the parents' café in Bad Dürrheim. On Thursday afternoons, mothers meet in a relaxed group between 3 and 6 p.m. at the Bohrturm.

Jenny Leber and Isabell Auer are responsible for the local organization. Fathers are also welcome to attend, but so far, no one has dared to. The women could also meet in a regular café, but the little ones are naturally very lively, and it can sometimes get loud. The women can exchange ideas and always keep an eye on the children during the conversation.

Toys from the foundation

They always have plenty of toys on the upper floor of the municipal youth center, and they can crawl or run around on the floor. A ball pit and blankets for spreading out fabric building blocks or toys provide variety. Child-friendly musical instruments are also available.

In between, one of the little ones gets a diaper change, breastfed, or a bottle, while the older ones get a snack brought along or rice cakes donated by the Pro-Kids Foundation. Especially for children still in kindergarten, such peer meetings are beneficial for promoting development and social interaction.

Over coffee and pretzels, the mothers talk about their daily lives, their children's situation, or discuss the chances of securing one of the coveted kindergarten spots later on. They also meet like-minded people with whom they can also meet privately. Thanks to the financial support of the Pro-Kids Foundation for basic supplies, they lack nothing, and even if consumables such as diapers, wet wipes, or sturdy toys need to be purchased, the women can turn to Joachim Spitz.

The Parents' Café is intended for parents with children up to three years old who are brought along. However, once the children are in kindergarten, the need for a meeting is no longer as great.

After the parents' café was founded, the mothers were restricted by the coronavirus pandemic, so they sometimes met outside at a playground. But not only that: "We met at the youth center and took a rapid COVID-19 test beforehand," one woman reported.

Not only mothers with their children are welcome, but also pregnant women. Even in the summer, the parents occasionally met outside. Sometimes the children don't even notice the mothers meeting because they're asleep—especially if they're still babies.

Invite speakers

In a discussion with the mothers, city youth worker Jessica Gälle, and Joachim Spitz, it was agreed that speakers could be invited to the parents' café or an evening event, covering topics such as diabetes, child nutrition, kite building, educational content, or first aid for children. The youth center's trainees could also be involved.

In any case, the parents' café is open to collaborations and also welcomes new interested parties – "everyone is welcome," says city youth worker Jessica Gälle. In recent months, at least five to six mothers with their children have attended the meetings, but usually more.

At one point, 15 mothers with a total of 16 children, ranging from infants to older children, were counted. The idea of establishing a second group was already being considered. A WhatsApp group was set up to facilitate communication. According to the mothers, the parent meeting definitely fills a gap; they appreciate "that parents with children of different ages can meet here."

Dürrheim family-friendly

Jessica Gälle is happy to make the room in the youth center available: “It’s a good opportunity for the women to exchange ideas with each other.”

One topic that comes up repeatedly in the mothers' conversations is kindergarten places. "I got a place quite well," said Jenny Leber, for example, although she suspects it has something to do with the fact that she runs a small business.

Isabell Auer attests that the city of Bad Dürrheim is "very child- and family-friendly," and this also applies to the creation of new kindergarten places. Not only seniors, but also mothers with strollers, for example, would benefit from lowered sidewalks and the infrastructure.

One mother suggested that there might be more babysitters in town who provide hourly childcare, especially if the grandparents don't live locally – but perhaps something is happening here at the youth center? ? hje