Rowing for a good cause:
Team Jacobs University races on Lake Starnberg

On July 14, 2007, the newly formed Jacobs University rowing crew of students and alumni participated in the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation benefit regatta "Rowing against Cancer” on Lake Starnberg. The coxed four-man gig started in the first race of the day at 11 a. m. and raced the distance of 500 meters against four other teams, finishing third in their heat. The proceeds of the regatta will go to the foundation for funding a special sports program for cancer patients.

[ Jul 13, 2007]  The coxswain, Sonja Wohllaib, the oarsmen Jakob Hausschildt, Kent Bridgewater, Tonia Ruppenthal, Christin Höne and Andres Alvarado (reserve, who rowed with the Else Kröne Stiftung team which made it to the Quarter Finals) together with Jacobs University President Joachim Treusch, who drove the new university 9-seater bus with in the up-to-date corporate design, set off early Friday morning from campus towards Starnberg. On location, the Jacobs participants, who were invited by regatta patron Dr. Gabriele Kröner, competed in the boat named “Jacobs University” against the teams of LMU Munich, TUM Munich, the pediatric clinic Schwabing and the Starnberg urologists’ crew. Altogether there were 15 races during the event with crews from various banking and other companies, clinics, foundations and associations, rowing clubs, and schools. The participation of the Jacobs University team is sponsored by Techniker Krankenkasse.

The charitable “Rowing against Cancer” is a series of benefit regattas to promote the initiative “Sport and Cancer”. The project was founded because cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy often suffer from restricted mobility and extreme exhaustion. The proceeds from the charitable event will support an exercise program to improve the quality of life for cancer patients. With the aid of a moderate endurance training within the program “Sport and Cancer” the course of disease, the compatibility of the therapy and the quality of life are affected noticeable in a positive way for most of the patients.

The Else Kröner-Fresenius foundation, founded 1983 by Else Kröner, is a non-profit organization based in Bad Homburg. The focus of the foundation’s efforts is providing assistance to clinical research projects and sponsoring humanitarian relief projects as well as the education and training of doctors and medical care personnel. The Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung has now supported more than 650 scientific and humanitarian projects with more than 60 million euros.