When Austria’s first virus lockdown hit, patrons donated 140,000 euros ($170,000) to maintain the extra income that many of the staff depend on — especially single women who, after years as homemakers, receive relatively small state pensions.
That, however, is just one benefit of the social enterprise.
“Older people want to feel needed, that is something incredibly essential to ageing, and that’s something that Vollpension provides,” says Franz Kolland, a professor at the University of Vienna who focuses on social aspects of old age.
As people grow older, “they face two decades of retirement during which they are mobile. They want to do something — they just have to be approached”, Kolland says, lauding Vollpension as a “role model”.