In the volunteer editorial team, Volunteers for Chemnitz 2025 publish reports on their experiences, assignments and adventures around the European Capital of Culture.
Bettina lives in Neukirchen in the Ore Mountains. Bettina has been a volunteer since 2024 and contributes her valuable voluntary experience to the European Capital of Culture gGmbH. A former bank clerk, she previously worked as a hardware and software developer.
They have become the undisputed favourites on a street known as Innere Klosterstraße - and not just with children. There are now 16 large bronze penguins there ... and then came my chance!
I read in the volunteering database that there was a thank-you workshop "Beaded animals" for volunteers on 11 July 2025, where you could make a penguin. So I quickly signed up to get one of the 6 places.
The time had finally come and I was really looking forward to having my own penguin soon.
The course instructor Camilla was already waiting for us in the Schmidt-Bank-Passage and prepared everything in detail: lots of colourful beads and nylon thread were provided and there was a penguin model on the table - a large penguin, as it turned out later.
Once all the participants had arrived, we got started quickly - after all, we had two hours and our task was ambitious. Camilla told us that we could make large and small penguins. I decided in favour of a small one. Oh dear, good thing I didn't realise what a fiddly job it would be to make my beaded penguin, which was only about 2 cm tall!
So, off we went. Camilla had us thread on the first 5 beads and then knot them. Further beads were threaded on, knotted and connected to other beads by threading them through to form a ring. Yes, that's the theory, but which bead should be knotted and threaded in which direction? But Camilla was very calm and patiently explained to us step by step what to do, checking if something looked strange or if a wing seemed to have disappeared due to twisting. Sometimes I thought I was making a rabbit or a little monster. But Camilla always knew a solution and saved our little works of art.
The time went by very quickly, two hours eventually turned into three - but all the participants had a lot of fun and were very proud of their little or big penguins at the end. I added a small chain and a key ring to my mini penguin. He now dangles from my bag and reminds me every day with his blue back, white belly and funny red beak, little feet and tail of a special afternoon of crafting with Camilla, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart!