The organisation aims to enhance personal development and improve access to further education and employment opportunities.
The Scaling Hobby Lobby for Educational Skills in Europe programme, sustained through the first edition of the Edu-Fund Platform expands operations across Austria, Germany, and Romania. It is the continuation of Hobby Lobby: Skills acquisition through informal education supported by UniCredit Foundation in 2023 through the Call for Education and successfully implemented in Austria.
The Scaling Hobby Lobby for Educational Skills in Europe programme addresses educational inequality and poverty by offering free, inclusive, community-based after-school courses for disadvantaged children. The goal is to reduce educational poverty, prevent early school leaving, and provide low-threshold access to informal learning opportunities.
Implemented in Austria (Vienna, Mödling, Wr. Neustadt, Salzburg, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz), Germany (Rostock), and Romania (Timisoara), with two additional locations to be selected based on social and educational challenges, the programme targets areas with high child poverty and limited educational access.
Its multi-dimensional approach combines teaching and learning with strong community engagement and diverse partnerships: schools, Teach for All, sports, cultural and educational institutions. Community connections are central, involving students, volunteers, social workers, teachers, and parents. Hobby Lobby staff act as site managers and community “weavers.”
Each week, around 2,000 young people build hard and soft skills, enhance employability, and prepare for future education. Graduates can join a year-long leadership programme to become community multipliers. The concept has been replicated over ten times in Austria and is expanding to Germany and Romania, with plans for further European growth.