It’s been two weeks since Mario Mairhofer and Patrick Hauer last met at a barbecue. Although they are 36 years apart, a kind of friendship developed between the two from Grünau. When six-year-old Patrick, who lives with a congenital heart defect and has had multiple operations, urgently needed help, Mairhofer got creative.
The coach of the youth football team at SV Scharnstein organized a sporting fundraiser together with fellow coaches from Grünau. There was 20 cents for every kilometer run to finance part of Patrick’s expensive therapies. More than 10,500 euros were raised in this way. Mario Mairhofer was nominated for his commitment to the 2021 honorary office award, which is being awarded for the fourth time this year by Sportland Oberösterreich, OÖNachrichten, Tips, Life Radio and TV1. Mairhofer was district winner of Gmunden last year and came second in the state ranking. There was 1500 euros for it.
“With this money we will take the children to a training camp in Carinthia at the end of August. Unfortunately, this was delayed by the pandemic,” says Mairhofer, whose trophy still adorns the office desk. Mairhofer only has good memories of the volunteer award: “Of course I was a bit tense during the voting phase. The award ceremony was nice, but it was even more emotional when I got a real welcome from my parents after the training session,” he says .
Nomination until August 26th
Successors are now being sought for Mairhofer and the remaining 15 district winners: You can nominate your secret hero for the election at nachrichten.at/ehrenamt until August 26th. Simply fill out the online form and upload a photo of your favorite along with a brief description. Only last year’s winners are excluded from re-entering. Once again this year, the winners will receive a healthy cash injection for club life.
Source: Nachrichten
