Dog Day
Several weeks ago, four classmates in the town of Rokyta – Karolína, Betty, Kiki, Viki and Anežka – organized a charity event they called ‘Dog Day’. “My name is Karolína and I am 12 years old. I love all animals very much, but I love dogs most of all. That’s why my friends and I decided to organize a charity event called ‘Dog Day’ to support dogs in need,” writes Karolína on the fundraising webpage that we helped the girls set on Via’s online giving portal, Darujme.cz. The girls’ efforts to raise money for the Voříškov temporary shelter for abandoned dogs surpassed their expectations.
At the Dog Day event, Voříškov shelter staff showed dogs up for adoption and there was also music, refreshments and a barbecue with live guitar music. Karolína and her friends reached out to people passing by, handing out leaflets about their initiative and inviting them to take part. There was also a raffle, with items donated by local businesses – restaurants, a candy store, a massage parlor, a pony riding club, a nature club, and several cafes – that the girls had called on in the weeks leading up to the event.
The four girls managed to raise over $850 (CZK 20,000) for the shelter, and thanks to a matching grant from Via Foundation, they will be able to donate more than $1700 (CZK 40,000) to help the dogs. Karolína herself was surprised at how much they were able to raise!
Community event for Filip
Natálka from the town of Kostelec nad Orlicí, who also joined Young Philanthropists with her friends, is another inspiring story. Together, they initiated a fundraising event for Filip Sršně, who was born with cerebral palsy. The day-long event included running races, a bake sale with homemade desserts and goodies, travel presentations and musical performances. “Being involved in the Young Philanthropists program has given me a lot of new experiences in life that I don’t learn in school. I’m so happy that people enjoyed our event – we got positive feedback from everyone and they asked if we are planning another year,” writes Natálka. They raised a total of $7,500 (CZK 177,715) to purchase a new wheelchair for Filip. You can see what the event was like in this video.
Connecting generations
In Velké Bystřice, high school student Antonín Šváb and his friends decided to bring residents of the village together by planting a symbolic linden tree. Antonín is a member of the Ecotym club, through which children from local primary and secondary schools protect the local environment. They help maintain vegetation in the village and hold clean-up events in the surrounding area and along the river. The tree planting event attracted people of all ages, including a 101-year-old native of Velké Bystřice. “Planting a linden tree was not just about planting one tree. It was about connecting people, supporting nature and strengthening the heritage that we will pass on to the next generation,” says Antonín. In addition to the planted tree, the children created a new campfire circle by the tree and are looking forward to the first event they will hold there later this summer. “We’re going to hold a Neighborhood Picnic Under the Trees, which will be a great opportunity for people in our village to come together and spend time outdoors together,” Antonín adds.
Summer fundraising events
Since the majority of the Young Philanthropists program participants are school children, most of their events are carried out at the end of the school year. Maya and Karin, students at a Prague high school, raised funds to purchase fruit for the elderly, which is distributed every month by volunteers from their school. They organized an afternoon fundraising event involving students from a nearby primary school. Another afternoon fundraising event, which centered on sports, was organized by sixth-graders from the Leoš Janáček Primary School in Hukvaldy. They used the proceeds from the sale of refreshments and the entry fee to support the Society for Early Care in Ostrava.
In Brno, a Young Philanthropists team decided to draw attention to the increasing number of women at risk of menstrual poverty. They organized a fundraising event for the Vesna Association and engaged seven corporate partners in the undertaking. Over 100 people came to the event.
Boy and Girl Scouts from the village of Holubov organized a festival for a sick boy named Matej. Three South Bohemian music bands gathered at the village square, visitors could enjoy homemade cakes at a café and take part in other fun activities. Through the event, the boys and girls raised almost $6,000 (CZK 140,611) and close to another $1,700 (CZK 40,000) in a fundraising drive on Darujme.cz.
The amount of money that Young Philanthropist raise is not a measure of success. The most important thing they take away from the projects is the experience they gain and the knowledge that they themselves can change the world around them. They gain confidence, improve their communication skills, learn to organize events and enhance their teamwork skills. But the thing that pleases us most is that 92% of them want to continue their charitable activities.
About the Young Philanthropists program
Through the Young Philanthropists program, we support children and students who want to help others and improve their environment. Groups of children from upper primary and secondary schools, and university students, can organize fundraising events for a person or organization of their choice. They can also organize a neighborhood event, a landscape restoration initiative or neighborhood improvement project.
