together with 12 companies we have collected 4,5 tons of material gifts

 

November 26, 2009 - In October and November 2009 the Pontis Foundation together with the group Engage organized a collection of clothes and other items for 7 charitable organizations. 12 companies joined the collection and altogether have collected 4 065 kilograms of clothes and shoes, bed linen, towels and dishtowels, more than 300 kilograms of kitchen commodities, toiletries and food, 30 kilograms of books, two children prams, spectacles and one pair of ski shoes. 83 meal vouchers of total amount of 247,6 Euro were divided between two crisis centers.

This was already the second collection of such kind that the Pontis Foundation organized this year. We set up a temporary storehouse on the premises of the company Západoslovenská energetika where employees of the participating companies could bring in spare clothes, bed linen or kitchen tools, which they no longer need, but could be of use to somebody else. The collection was based on the needs of non-profit organizations and was meant for the homeless and people in need.

Róbert Kováč from the common lodging house Mea Culpa said: “The collected items help us ensure our clients proper winter clothing as well as a satisfactory level of service in our common lodging house.”

Janka Barboríková from the civic association Depaul Slovensko agreed with him and on behalf of her organization added: “Joy grows with sharing – ours weights 2 tons.”

Children from the orphanage Macejko have expressed their gratitude to the coordinators from the participating companies by drawing pictures and preparing small presents for them. The importance of the collection was described by a young Palestinian refugee, who is currently living in a refugee camp in Humenné: “Thanks to the clothes I received from you my life is happier. I am dressed properly, just as everyone else.”

Apart from  the common lodging house Mea Culpa, orphanage Macejko and the Office of the UN High Commissioner (refugee camp in Humenné), the collection items were distributed also to the crisis center Brána do života (Gate to Life) and to the Slovak crisis center Dotyk (Touch) – both organizations that work with victims of domestic violence and abuse, – to Depaul Slovensko (care provider for the homeless, that runs a low-cost common lodging house and a shelter for long-term ill homeless people) and to the organization Pro Vida, which brought the items to the Bernolákovo orphan house.

From the 15 members of the group Engage 12 companies participated in the collection: Allen and Overy Bratislava, DLA Piper, Hewlett Packard Slovakia. IBM, Kinstellar, KPMG Slovensko, Orange Slovensko, Philip Morris Slovakia, Provident Financial, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, T-Mobile Slovensko and Západoslovenská energetika.

“Four and half tons of items have not ended up in a dust-heap or in an incineration house, but helped many people. We are glad that the companies and their employees behave friendly to the environment and also showed solidarity with those, who have less,” said Monika Smolová from the Pontis Foundation.

“We try our best to have all of the items clean and of a good quality so that we find them a new owner. In the future we would like to organize collections of selected items and move our activities also out of Bratislava,” added Monika Smolová.