"Salzland Women" 2025 chosen

Young Commitment category

For six years - from 2018 to 2024 - Jenny Geraldine Wegener has held the office of Stassfurt's "Salt Fairy" with impressive dedication, great commitment, remarkable passion and perseverance, leaving her mark on an entire town. She has tirelessly promoted her home town, represented it with pride and in doing so has grown far beyond herself.

A term of office that normally lasts two years, but in this particular case was extended twice. The coronavirus pandemic led to a second election, and when no other candidates were found, she took on the role for a third time - with unwavering passion, charm, dignity and remarkable stamina. Almost as long as a mayoral term.

Jenny Geraldine Wegener represented the town of Staßfurt at countless events - from the Green Week in Berlin to the Queen's Meetings in Witzenhausen and Traunstein and many other occasions. But it was far more than just representation: it was genuine ambassadorial work, fuelled by her passion, her dedication and her deep attachment to her homeland. With every appearance, with every conversation, she inspired people for Staßfurt and put the town in the public eye in a positive light.

Despite her intensive commitments as a "salt fairy", Jenny Geraldine Wegener has successfully mastered her training and professional development, started a family, married and given birth to a child. All this testifies to a remarkable personality - a young woman who shows that passion for one's homeland and personal development can go hand in hand.

With her extraordinary commitment, she has provided the town of Staßfurt with unique and priceless publicity. Her commitment was always voluntary, the time she invested was a gift to the community and her work was characterised by a deep connection to her homeland.

Category Society

Adelheid Wölfel has been working tirelessly for many years as a volunteer in the "IDEE - International Demokratisch Ehrenamt Emanzipation" (International Democratic Volunteering Emancipation) project of the Saxony-Anhalt Regional Association of the German Red Cross, which is particularly committed to successful intercultural coexistence and the promotion of democratic behaviour in everyday life. She has also been a volunteer social counsellor in the Salzland district since 2015, providing support to refugees and asylum seekers housed in the town of Schönebeck.

Through her activities for the integration of refugees, which are characterised by great perseverance and persistence, Adelheid Wölfel not only makes a significant contribution to enabling the people concerned to participate in society in the town of Schönebeck and to opening up prospects for the future, but also to ensuring that locals and new citizens can live well together. She pays particular attention to promoting mutual understanding between nations and the areas of voluntary work in which Adelheid Wölfel is involved include both accompanying these people in an environment that is new to them and teaching them how to find their way in everyday life. This includes topics such as shopping, housing, directions, visits to the doctor and authorities, enrolment in daycare centres and schools, finding training, internships and jobs, using local public transport, leisure activities, culture, customs and traditions, as well as the laws that apply here and how to comply with them.

Adelheid Wölfel also offers low-threshold German and literacy courses at the DRK premises in Straße der Jugend four days a week for four hours a day and, in her opinion, the best thing about these courses is that they are taken up by the refugees on a voluntary basis and in a highly motivated manner and that the participants develop such a deep sense of trust in the process, which represents an extraordinarily great responsibility for Adelheid Wölfel.

Not only do they learn together with a lot of humour to help them endure all the circumstances that are inevitably associated with losing their old home and settling into their new one, but they also emphasise any success and progress in order to strengthen the participants' awareness that they can achieve something here.

Social category

If you look at Michaela Hamel's professional CV, she describes herself as a person who approaches others openly, listens and understands. And so she is a very special woman who not only impresses with her friendliness and demeanour, but above all with her humanity, warm-heartedness and willingness to help.

Years ago, Michaela Hamel registered with the German Bone Marrow Donor Centre (DKMS for short), probably the best-known donor centre in Germany - and this is precisely where her voluntary social commitment comes in. She is no stranger to cancer fates, both in her family and among friends and acquaintances. When a friend's young son was diagnosed with leukaemia, she made the final decision to become actively involved.

It all began with an appeal for donations in favour of DKMS to finance typing and bring recipients and donors together. Michaela Hamel starts crocheting hats and other items to offer donors and people who have themselves typed something in return, i.e. "crocheting against cancer". She is now supported in her voluntary work by like-minded people and organises joint campaign days for typing and the associated registration with DKMS.

The home-made Christmas arrangements, which are offered every year at the Barby Christmas market in return for a donation, are also very popular. All donations are passed on in full, in particular to the association "Aktion Knochenmarkspende Sachsen-Anhalt e.V." Michaela Hamel has also set up a Facebook and Instagram page ("Krebs ist ein A.loch"), where you can see which campaigns are currently running.

In order to expand the group of people who are eligible to donate bone marrow, she and her fellow campaigners also want to approach schools to inform young people about their voluntary work. A first step in this direction has already been taken with a visit to a school in Calbe (Saale).

In addition to this voluntary work, Michaela Hamel and another volunteer also take the time to train a children's dance group, the "Kleine Funken" of the Barbyer Kanuten Faschingsverein e.V. carnival club.

Category Culture

Bärbel Engler has been a member of the Kultur- und Heimatverein Hohenerxleben e.V. since 25 January 2006 and has been an active member of the association's board since April 2024. She is a driving force in the local history association, always available for all matters relating to the association and the citizens of Hohenerxleben, and she puts her heart and soul into her work.

Their activities show once again how varied and exciting voluntary work can be. Whether at the spring, summer, local or October festivals, Easter bonfires, dancing in May, open days, Halloween, carnivals, children's carnivals or Christmas markets - Bärbel Engler's work can be felt everywhere.

She always tries to combine and maintain the tried and tested with the traditional, so it was no question for her to maintain the Singe-Kreis and the fire brigade choir, with both choirs now performing as a mixed choir and, of course, her involvement in the choir.

She is also an active member of Hohenerxleben's "flower group". This group consisted of the "Hohenerxleben blossoms" campaign launched in 2017. Initially, 4,000 flower bulbs were planted in an area maintained by the town. She regularly takes part in work assignments to maintain the flowering meadows for insects. This was followed by participation in the "Young with Old" project. Here, together

planted 2 chestnut trees with the children from the Hohenerxleben children's centre. Other maintenance areas were added. Bärbel Engler is an irreplaceable member of this group, as she can contribute experience from her previous work in landscape conservation.

In addition to her voluntary work in the associations of Hohenerxleben, she is also a wife and grandmother. As a grandmother in particular, she supports her daughter, who works in the care sector, in looking after her grandchild. And she has also involved her husband in the activities of the local association.

Category Culture

Kerstin Schmidt is a good example of many years of voluntary work, which she lives out through her passion for art and culture. Among other things, she is a member of the board of the Freundeskreis Museum Schloss Bernburg und kunsthalle bernburg e.V. - here she takes the minutes, helps prepare events and thus makes a significant contribution to ensuring that a wide variety of artists have the opportunity to present their works to the interested public in the "kunsthalle bernburg". She puts her heart and soul into these activities, contributes her ideas and is a committed and reliable partner in the realisation of the projects.

Her commitment to amateur theatre in Bernburg is indispensable. Here, Kerstin Schmidt is a founding member of the regional amateur theatre with the group "Mona Lisa". In 2023, she celebrated 20 years on stage with her cabaret group "M!Pört". She has also held the honorary position of minute taker at the Bernburger Theaterverein e.V. for many years.

Whether art pictures or theatre stage: Kerstin Schmidt loves the cultural souvenirs and projects and gives her all in everyday life to preserve them. Her absolutely human, friendly and endearing manner, with which she approaches others, makes her the good soul of the theatre association.

Kerstin Schmidt is also involved in the Bernburger Heimatkreis e.V. - here she regularly enriches the association's work with great ideas, supports the return of the old local grape varieties "Blauer Bernburger" and "Roter Aderstedter" in small-scale cultivation and contributes to events organised by the association's "dialect group" with readings. In this way, she supports the preservation of the traditions of the Bernburg region and its language.

Her commitment to the "Jewish History in Bernburg" working group, of which she has been the leader and secretary for many years, should not go unmentioned. It is thanks to Kerstin Schmidt's dedicated efforts that the former Jewish life in Bernburg has not been forgotten, but has been preserved by all generations. The annual commemoration of the November pogrom at the former synagogue and the organisation of the laying of more than 60 stumbling blocks are in her hands. In this way, it makes an irreplaceable contribution to the culture of remembrance in the town of Bernburg.

Category Sport

Simone Rockmann loves to combine culture and sport together in the Salzland district and to experience it with many people. With her infectious and motivating manner, she manages, for example, to motivate many club members of Salzlandsparkasse e.V., but also men and women without a club, to take part in the Solvay Cup and the state cup in the areas of Nordic walking and running and to lead them across the finish line.

The walking club in Aschersleben, which Simone Rockmann initiated and still runs today, is called "Immer wieder sonntags" (Sundays again and again). Active people of different age groups go walking with her. Beginners, mums after pregnancy, retirees - everyone is welcome and receives individual support.

In addition, Simone Rockmann is a cultural consultant for the Salzländer Kulturstempel and knows like no other how to combine the walking tours with various stamping points of the Salzländer Kulturstempel e.V. or the Harzer Wandernadel.

However, she is not only active in walking for the Salzländer, but also in the Salzland Cycling Day - both in the organisation and as a tour guide.

Simone Rockmann has also been supporting the "Women on the Move" campaign, which was initiated by the Salzlandkreis district sports association, the state sports association and AOK Sachsen-Anhalt, since 2021. She is currently involved in the planning for this year's event in Schönebeck. For 2026, she is actively working on bringing the event to Aschersleben.

Zumba, step aerobics, aqua Zumba or aqua gymnastics: Simone Rockmann offers workshops especially for women so that women of all backgrounds, ages and fitness levels can get moving in a safe space and have fun and enjoy exercise.

But not just women! With the support of the Foundation of the former Kreissparkasse Bernburg and the Sparkassenstiftung Aschersleben-Staßfurt, the old-with-young project has been running since 2019, in which Simone Rockmann regularly visits various retirement homes in Aschersleben and the surrounding area with the Zumba kids and dances Zumba with the residents. With her passion and love of sport, she brings the generations together.

She also maintains friendships with various clubs. At Lok Aschersleben's athletics department, Simone Rockmann is a welcome guest at the German Sports Badge Day - both as an active participant and as an examiner. At the Ballhaus, she helps out at the 24-hour swimming event. At the handball club in Aschersleben, she has often organised the half-time breaks with the Zumba kids.

Simone Rockmann has been teaching various Zumba classes at the district adult education centre in Aschersleben since 2024. She also looks after the children's sports group in her home town of Groß Schierstedt, supports the youth section of HC Aschersleben as a hall speaker and looks after 2 Zumba kids dance groups with a qualified team of trainers.

Since spring 2022, she has been supporting women and children from Ukraine who have found a new home here. The children were accepted into dance groups and quickly made friends in their new home. She supports the mums in their day-to-day dealings with the authorities, such as registering for school and daycare.

Lifetime achievement category

Inge Pietschmann has been a member of the local branch of the Staßfurt People's Solidarity organisation in Atzendorf since 2006 and has been a volunteer member of the board since 2010, both as a team member and as the group's head treasurer. She still carries out this responsible role today, fulfils it conscientiously and to the best of her satisfaction and is a very strong pillar of the local group's fortunes in many matters in the village.

With her many years of experience and her advice, she not only supports the respective chairmen in the financial area, but also always stands up for the interests of the members, while putting her personal interests aside. She visits the sick, volunteers for additional activities, helps with the preparation of club festivals in the village, such as the Whitsun sports festival, harvest festival, Christmas market and sells cakes. She holds many discussions to attract new members, which unfortunately is not always successful due to a lack of new recruits.

Her contact with the youngest children in the village is excellent. The children from the "Spatzennest" nursery organise various coffee afternoons with a programme in the local group. In return, Inge Pietschmann is involved in highlights at the daycare centre. She regularly takes part in reading aloud days at the nursery and in small performances organised by the Volkssolidarität.

For 10 years, a cultural group of the Volkssolidarität - the Seven-Teenies - performed at the ZLG Whitsun sports festival, in nursing homes and at their own coffee afternoons or Christmas parties with a programme entitled "Pensioners for Pensioners" and brought a lot of joy to those present (until Corona). Inge Pietschmann helped design the programme, was there and also helped with the preparations. She skilfully knew how to allay other people's fears of performing and how to recruit new members. Unfortunately, the group disbanded due to illness.

However, Inge Pietschmann still organises the tried and tested performances for small anniversaries and brings great joy to many older people. She simply has a gift for inspiring older senior citizens and persuading them to take part in the performances.

Inge Pietschmann also maintains a long tradition in the local group - congratulating birthday celebrants, home visits to sick people, visits to care home residents in Löbnitz, Staßfurt, Aschersleben and Bernburg who used to live in Atzendorf. With her commitment, she endeavours to counteract loneliness in old age. She maintains numerous personal contacts with single people (widows) and elderly women in need of care, which has increased considerably in recent years. She supports several senior citizens in her neighbourhood with short walks, visits, conversations or even shopping (in addition to the carers). This has also made it possible for senior citizens with disabilities to remain in their own homes. She is a regular point of contact, especially for relatives who do not live in the area.

She always contributes her ideas and suggestions to the local group's annual work plan and implements them, for example by organising joint day trips or trips lasting several days.

In addition, Inge Pietschmann has been active in the ZLG Atzendorf senior sports group for many years, organising trips in conjunction with the members of the Volkssolidarität and maintaining contact with tour operators.

Even during the coronavirus period, she kept in touch with the senior citizens and members of the local group by phone, enquiring about their well-being and offering help and support, even though she herself belonged to the at-risk group. She always put her heart and soul into her work and always tried to find a solution with kind words.

This voluntary work is very varied and often involves a great deal of effort and personal commitment. Inge Pietschmann is always there when she is needed. She is a role model for all members, even in old age. MITEINANDER-FÜREINANDER is the motto of her voluntary work.