– We are genuinely happy for this support – not least because this donation is a testament to local backing. It is important for us that local citizens, funds, and businesses can see themselves as part of the project we are working on, says Erik Klit.

The hotel reopened in 1992 as a social economy enterprise and has since gained attention from all over the country due to the so-called Skovsgård model, where space is created for people who are outside the labor market. At Skovsgård Hotel, everyone is equally important, and everyone contributes what they can. The motto of the hotel is: "No one can do everything. Everyone can do something. Together we can run a whole hotel."

Currently, there are a total of 20 employees who are hired under special conditions. The hope is that in the long term, space can be created for more people with physical or mental difficulties, allowing them to create a meaningful everyday life and become part of a work community. Therefore, for several years, work has been underway on a comprehensive renovation and reconstruction project, which among other things aims to ensure better working conditions and increase the number of rooms from the current 4 to 14.

– In this renovation project, the goal is also to create better access conditions for disabled guests and employees and to establish staff facilities, as we do not have that today, explains Erik Klit.

The hotel has secured financial support of more than 25 million kroner from a number of funds, including Realdania and the A. P. Møller Support Fund, and is close to achieving full funding for the project. The latest donation comes from "Fonden Sol og Strand by Margit og Kjeld."

– We will earmark this donation to either create better access conditions for guests and employees with walking difficulties or staff facilities. As it stands now, we do not have a place where employees can take a break in peace and quiet. We are dealing with particularly vulnerable people, and we need a private space where they can retreat, he says.

Erik Klit hopes and dreams that if all goes well, the hotel can be completed in the spring of 2022.

– We believe that this is a good and meaningful project that creates space for more vulnerable people and gives them the opportunity to experience a work community, he says.

Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental transitioned to foundation ownership in 2019. According to plan, "Fonden Sol og Strand by Margit and Kjeld," which is currently under construction, was not supposed to start distributing funds for charitable purposes until 2022. However, the fund's board has decided to distribute one million already this year.

– This is the first time we are distributing from the fund, and the board has selected a total of ten organizations, each receiving 100,000 kroner. This time, the selection has been based on the wishes of the fund's founders, Margit and Kjeld Andersen. Going forward, distributions will be based on applications we receive, says the fund's chairman, Jens Stadum.

The couple Margit and Kjeld Andersen are pleased that they now have the opportunity to realize a dream they have had for many years for Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental A/S, which they founded in 1979. The couple started by renting out their own summer house, and the company now manages the rental of around 6,500 Danish holiday homes, making it one of the largest Danish rental agencies.

In November 2019, they transferred ownership of Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental A/S to the commercial foundation, which aims to support charitable and local causes. From 2022/23, the expectation is that the foundation will be able to distribute up to 75 percent of the profits from Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental to these purposes annually. Thus, by choosing to rent out your summer house or book a holiday stay through Sol og Strand Holiday Home Rental, you are indirectly helping to make a difference for others.

The company calls this "Holidays with a Good Heart," and it is entirely in line with Margit and Kjeld Andersen's wishes and hopes for the business.

– By establishing this fund, we ensure that our life's work of renting out Danish holiday homes continues in Danish hands and is not sold to, for example, a foreign capital fund. We are happy that it is possible to distribute funds earlier than planned and that the fund can support a hotel like the one in Skovsgård, which ensures that people who are struggling can become part of a community and contribute with the skills that each individual possesses, say Margit and Kjeld Andersen.