The Manfred Sauer Foundation, established in 2001, focuses on supporting paralysed individuals by promoting their self-responsibility and well-being through various activities and services. These include workshops for creativity, nutrition and well-being programs, and a health centre designed to foster physical and mental health. The foundation aims to bridge the gap between wheelchair users and able-bodied individuals, fostering interaction and encouraging a fulfilling life regardless of physical limitations.

1. Body awareness Nutrition & Well-being Creativity & Activity
Handicraft workshops
Health centre
Restaurant
Training and seminars
Accommodation

2. As with all people, responsibility and
independent achievements are
also crucial pillars of a satisfied
and self-determined life for
paralysed people. But neither
of these things happen as a
matter of course. It does not
require a lot of imagination to
understand that such a devas-
tating event as a paralysis turns a
person’s life upside down. Responsibility
for oneself and others is pushed aside by the newly
experienced physical restrictions and the associated
mental trauma. In this situation, people need to be
accompanied in order to discover new perspectives
for themselves and to find trust in their remaining and
often yet unknown abilities.
At the age of 19, I broke my cervical spine and have
been paralysed ever since. A lack of supplies in
those days prompted me to create tools for bladder
incontinence and later clothes which are modified to a
sitting position. This means that it is mainly paralysed
persons who led us to our business success through
their need for the items manufactured by us - this suc-
cess is now being returned to this group of persons
via the Manfred Sauer Foundation.
Manfred Sauer
Aims of the Foundation
The charitable Manfred Sauer Foundation wishes to encourage
an – in every sense – barrier-free contact between wheelchair
users and able bodied. The Foundation was established in 2001
by Manfred Sauer under the motto of Promoting the Motivation
of Paralysed People. In the sense of the Foundation’s principle,
motivation means, in particular, to take over the responsibility for
one‘s own well-being and health as well as for one’s immediate
environment and to socially commit oneself. The idea is to quite
simply take life into one’s own hands.
Paralysed people are in the focus of the Foundation’s work. The
activities on offer at the Manfred Sauer Foundation are, however,
directed towards all people - the whole facility is open to the
public. Bonding elements are the search for self-fulfilment and
the wish for an active way of life, because the Manfred Sauer
Foundation wishes to give inspiration for “meaning in life”.
2

3. 1 2 3
For paralysed persons, the actual confrontation with
the every-day situation does not arise until after the
rehabilitation or discharge from hospital. They often
painfully concede that the previous purpose and ob-
jectives in life no longer exist, while new perspectives
have not yet been developed. A sense of meaning-
lessness and hopelessness sets in, which can result
in despair and depression.
In a positive environment, the Manfred Sauer Founda-
tion aims to show all those looking for orientation
coping strategies and create the condition for contact
and interaction between wheelchair users and able
bodied.
The Foundation and its aims
Our focal points
Creativity &
Activity
A broad range of possible
activities invites people to
discover their own skills
and preferences and to try
them out – even with limited
dexterity.
Nutrition &
­Well-being
Food provides pleasure,
influences the health and
thereby contributes to
the general well-being.
A well-considered diet is
especially important for
paralysed people to control
bowel management and
body weight.
Awareness of
one’s own body
The Manfred Sauer Founda-
tion aims to help to accept
the perceived imperfection
of one’s own body. Low
self-esteem, which is often
an obstacle to physical
activities and participation,
shall be restored.
Life has no meaning save
that which we confer upon it.
Thornton Wilder (1887–1975), American playwright and novelist
3

4. 1Awareness of the body
At one with one’s own body
Most people only begin to perceive their own body when
it shows dysfunctions or causes pain. Thanks to an early,
targeted, active approach to one’s own body, the Manfred
Sauer Foundation wishes to contribute to a positive body
and self-acceptance.
This applies all the more for people with paralysis, who often
perceive their body to be an obstacle; it no longer seems to
be worth caring for and liking. Physical well-being then be-
comes insignificant, as it seems unachievable in any event.
With the help of traditional and alternative therapies such
as relaxation techniques, holistic body treatments, physi-
otherapy, massage and spa experiences in the saunas and
steam room, visitors can restore and maintain their physical
well-being. With the assisted training at our health club the
remaining muscle functions are stabilised and strengthened.
From these components, an individual programme can be
created to strengthen the physical well-being. Qualified
expert staff contributes with advice and support.
Physiotherapy
Fitness
Well-being
Treat your body to the occasional
indulgence …
4

5. Awareness of one’s own body
Our state-of-the-art health centre offers a mix
of well dosed activity and relaxation. Compo-
nents are the practice for physiotherapy, which
is licensed by the health insurance, a generous
well-being and fitness area, which is committed
to a health-oriented training with gym equipment
and in the courses on offer. On an area of 1,400
square metres, one can develop strength and
endurance in a pleasant environment on state-
of-the-art equipment, enjoy classic, alternative
and comprehensive courses of treatment and
find quiet and relaxation.
From these components, we will be happy to
put together individually designed programmes
to strengthen well-being. In all areas, trained
sports coaches, masseurs, physiotherapists
and sports therapists ensure a more intensive
personal support.
The Manfred Sauer foundation is not a reha-
bilitation clinic. We assume that our paralysed
guests are aware of their medical needs.
The following range is available to you:
• A broad course programme for young and old
• Mobility training
• A sauna landscape with saunarium,
Finnish sauna, steam bath, relaxation area
and footbaths
• A heated exercise pool with massage jet,
counter-current system and mobile lifter
• Aqua balancing
• Physiotherapy and alternative forms of
­treatment in 10 spacious treatment rooms
• Heat treatments
• Different massages (aroma oil, antistress
and head massage and a lot more)
• Relaxation techniques
• Full body and face peelings
Progress towards a better well-being
… so that your soul cares to live in it.
Teresa von Avila (1515–1582), Spanish mystic
5

6. 2
Restaurant “Die Küche”
Training kitchen
Diet advice
In-house brewery
Nutrition & Well-being
Combining indulgence with health
Thanks to a value-added diet – the combination of fresh,
high-quality foods with carefully prepared and lovingly
presented dishes –, the Manfred Sauer Foundation wishes
to waken and promote the awareness and ­responsibility for
one’s own diet.
Good food in the sense of tasty, healthy dishes ­creates
moments of indulgence and well-being, but also ­contributes
to the control of the digestion and weight. A healthy well-
balanced diet can replace many a “pill”.
Our dietician offers advice and takes care of individual
needs as well as providing more general knowledge in prac-
tical cookery courses.
The training kitchen is available to develop one‘s own crea-
tivity. It is designed in such a flexible way that wheelchair
users and able bodied can pursue their cookery ambitions
at height-adjustable work surfaces and cooking appliances.
Let food be your medicine and
medicine be your food.
Hippokrates von Kos (ca. 460 BC – ca. 377 BC), Western father of medicine
6

7. Nutrition & Well-being
The kitchen experience
The kitchen is open, the recipes are no secret.
While sitting in the ­restaurant, the cook can be
watched.
The restaurant “Die Küche” is situated in a light,
glazed atrium of the Foundation’s building.
Thanks to intensive greening, nature is let into
the building and a pleasant room climate is cre-
ated. Here you can eat and drink or simply just
spend your time and experience the times of
the day or the seasons of the year. In addition,
the beer garden invites you to sit outside in the
summer months.
The range also includes our self-brewed and
freshly pulled beer from our in-house brewery.
For parties, celebrations and seminars, a
separate room with a fireplace is available;
our kitchen is also designed to provide larger
banquets.
Advisory centre for nutrition
and digestion
The topics of nutrition and digestion are of
­interest for paralysed people for their entire life.
For this reason, our advisory centre wishes to
provide advice regarding the most influential
parameters on health like living ­circumstances,
habits and choice of food. In addition, we also
develop individual ­solutions for people with
paralysis with the aim of improving their mobility
and quality of life.
Presentations, training sessions and workshops
on the subject of nutrition and digestion for peo-
ple with paralysis are also part of the advisory
centre’s programme.
7

8. 3 Creativity & Activity
Handicraft workshops
Seminars
Meetings
Training
The Manfred Sauer Foundation assumes that different
skills can be found in every person. Awakening them and
trying them out in respect of a practical implementation
– despite a wheelchair situation and limited dexterity – is
the task of the workshop. The aim here is to divert attrac-
tion from the deficits, awaken existing skills and present
creative activities in order to open up perspectives.
Here, creativity is a broad term. Crafts are in the same
way part of the activation concept as a range of arts.
Where possible, individual solutions for physical impair-
ments are developed together with those affected.
Discovering the variety of one’s own skills
Life is the desire to create.
Carl Spitzweg (1805–1885), German Romanticist painter and poet
8

9. Creativity
&
Activity
Training, seminars and more
The numerous courses on offer underpin the
objectives of the Manfred Sauer Foundation.
The course programme provides information
about the activities at the Foundation and can
also be found online.
Additionally, seminars, training sessions, work-
shops and presentation on the core topics of
the Manfred Sauer Foundation are offered for
wheelchair users and/or supporting persons.
A range of events are held at the Foundation.
The facilities include eight large seminar rooms
and some smaller meeting rooms, which can
also be booked for conferences and private
events. The rooms are fitted with state-of-the-
art conference technology. The rooms on offer
range from 25 m² to 400 m² and provide space
for up to 200 people.
These facilities can also be used to hold events
which contribute towards improving the contact
between wheelchair users and the able bodied.
Handicraft workshops
The workshop is also open to able-bodied
people to discover their skills. Thanks to this
approach, the Manfred Sauer Foundation
promotes a contact and good understanding
between people with and without disability.
Courses from the following areas can be at-
tended:
• Working with metal, wood and stone
• Creating jewellery
• Glass processing
• Bookbinding
• Textile design
• Painting
You can find up-to-date information at the web-
site: www.manfred-sauer-stiftung.org
9

10. Nobody knows how far
their strengths will take them …
Accommodation
Our hotel has 28 bright and friendly guest rooms
(single and double bed rooms). For wheelchair users to
stay with their partners and families there are further 20
pavilions available close to a nature reserve as a quiet
place to unwind. Embedded in a park, these houses
provide a cosy atmosphere and the suitable environ-
ment to regain strength and energy.
It goes without saying that all rooms are easily
­accessible and are equipped with telephone, internet
and ­television.
10

11. The Foundation as a meeting place
The Manfred Sauer Foundation is a not-for-profit organi-
sation which sees itself as a place of positive interaction
between disabled wheelchair users and the able bodied,
who both want to master their lives with responsibility
and imagination. The Foundation offers the opportunity
for reflection, orientation and the exchange of ideas.
It is important to us that people who stay with us learn to
judge and use their own resources in order to achieve a
positive rhythm of life.
… until they try.
J. W. von Goethe (1749–1832), German polymath
11

12. Neurott 20 • 74931 Lobbach • Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 6226 960 250
Fax +49 (0) 6226 960 2515
info@manfred-sauer-stiftung.de
www.manfred-sauer-stiftung.de
2010-09