Grant Strategy

1. Well-being is expressed in children’s joy for life, their curiosity and drive. Well-being is closely linked to children’s ability to learn, grow and improve. In Lauritzen Fonden we want to enhance children’s possibilities of well-being by supporting strategical efforts that work with children’s well-being i.e. by securing equal access to communities, play and movement.
2. General education relates to the skills and attitude enabling children to become responsible and actively engage in communities. Research indicates that to achieve an active adult life you have to have social, cultural and educational capital. Our focus on general education is visible through the initiatives we support that aim to secure life coping skills – the social and cultural skills that go beyond the academic.

We focus on children and youth from low-income households because they suffer from a disadvantage when it comes to equal opportunities in life, they have a hard time finding their way through the educational system and thus lack connection to the job market in adulthood. Approximately 8 % of children and youth in Denmark grow up in low-income households.

Studies show that this group often:

• Does not thrive – physically as well as mentally
• Rarely participate in leisure activities
• Feels lonely
• Does not perform well in primary school and 9th grade final school examination
• Rarely begins youth education
• Generally educate themselves less
• Has a lower income as adults
• Has a higher risk of unemployment
• Has a higher risk of receiving early retirement benefit

That these children often have a more difficult path through life not only affects the individual but also society as a whole. It can lead to more inactive adults not being able to obtain the same possibilities of contributing to society.