Stiftung Irene
About the funder
The Irene Foundation was established in 1982 by Helen and Werner Blohm to enable the care and support of adults on the autism spectrum. Originally, the foundation initiated the Weidenhof in Hitzacker as a holistic living environment. Since early 2024, the Irene Foundation has been supporting Weidenhof gGmbH both ideologically and financially. In addition to continuing residential living and care services, the foundation funds pilot projects as well as research, education, and participation initiatives across the entire autism field, with a particular focus on institutional offerings that improve the quality of life and social inclusion of autistic individuals beyond childhood.
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Mission & Vision
The Irene Foundation is committed to lifelong participation for people on the autism spectrum. It supports innovative projects and collaborations, promotes research and educational initiatives, and provides seed funding for services specifically tailored to the unique needs of autistic individuals and their families. In doing so, it places great emphasis on sustainability, effectiveness, and the creation of new models for housing, assistance, and social inclusion.
Target groups
The funding programs of the Irene Foundation are exclusively aimed at organizations, institutions, and research projects in the field of autism. Support is provided particularly for inpatient and outpatient residential and care services for adults with autism, institutional counseling and self-help groups, educationally supervised leisure and relief services for families and siblings, as well as research and educational initiatives to expand knowledge about autism and to train professionals. Funding for individual applications from private persons (e.g., living expenses, personal assistants, training costs) is not provided.