Our City: Hundreds of Volunteer Teams Helped All Across Slovakia – From Stupava to Snina

Volunteers beautified gardens and parks, cleaned forests, painted fences and benches in amphitheaters, tidied up maternity centers and charity homes, and contributed to the preservation of cultural monuments. Once again, Our City connected companies, civic organizations, and local governments in a shared effort to improve the places where we live. “People from companies are a natural part of their communities. When employers allow them to help during work hours at a center that cares for their children or grandparents, it benefits everyone. The organization gets the much needed support, the volunteers strengthen the bonds with their colleagues, and it also improves the relationship between the company and its employees. Corporate volunteering brings benefits to all,” explained Michal Kišša, co-CEO of the Pontis Foundation. 

Graffiti Removed from Historic YMCA Building

Employees from 188 companies participated in Our City, helping 233 organizations in 53 towns and villages. As in previous years, the highest number of volunteers participated in Bratislava, but the activities also took place in Banská Bystrica, Žilina, Prešov, and Michalovce. In Nitra, volunteers repaired pathways in the Botanical Garden, and in Košice, they worked on school grounds. “This year again, our employees joined the Our City initiative. They were excited to help cultivate the urban neighborhoods where we operate. It’s very encouraging to see tangible results from their efforts,” said David Kolář, Marketing Director for Hornbach Slovakia and the Czech Republic. 

Volunteers also helped at eight castles and other cultural landmarks. For the first time, the YMCA Slovakia civic association, focused on the youth, joined the event. Together with volunteers, they cleaned the walls of the iconic historic YMCA building in central Bratislava, partially removing graffiti and unwanted drawings. 

The village of Čičmany participated for a second time. Last year, volunteers helped with mowing and re-painting the signature ornamental designs. This year, they planted flowers in flowerbeds and large pots to further beautify the area. The easternmost stop of this year’s volunteering marathon was Snina, where the four-legged residents of the Chlpáčik animal shelter needed skilled hands to repair their kennels and doghouses. Last year, they got help from employees of the local factory who also returned this year. 

CEOs Did Not Just Stand By 

It wasn’t just employees who joined, as the CEOs and top managers of participating companies pitched in as well. In the Dúbravka district of Bratislava, they helped revitalize the premises of the Prof. Karol Matulay Social Services Center. They cleaned terraces, planted herbs and flowers, and painted a wooden gazebo and benches in the garden, which serves both children and adults with disabilities. 

Volunteering is much more than just manual labor. “Companies become true partners of the community. Volunteering offers a simple and meaningful way to connect people from businesses with non-profit organizations, build relationships, and strengthen cohesion in local communities. At a time when societal trust is declining, cooperation is more important than ever,” Michal Kišša added. 

What Was Said About Our City

“We’re helping at a facility that simply needs help. There’s a lot to fix and improve, and that’s why we’re here. Every helping hand counts. Volunteering is in our company’s DNA, and we run many projects through which we help others. I’m glad to see so many CEOs participating in Our City. They are setting an example and supporting volunteering in their companies.” 

Radoslav Rezák, CEO and corporate volunteer 

“Our City is a huge help for our elementary school. Having 50 hard-working hands in one day for a major task like painting the school fence this year is a big deal. The school janitor would probably spend weeks on it, but now it’s done in one morning.” 

Eva Horníková, Principal of Karlova Ves Elementary School 

“Volunteer help is more than essential for us. For events like today, we need a larger group of people. As a civic association, we simply don’t have the capacity. It’s very important that we get to know each other, that people know about us, and that we know about those willing to help others.” 

Simona Boťanská, Coordinator at Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Slovakia 

“This is our second year at Our City, and we’re really glad our employer joined the initiative. We’ll definitely be back next year, as it’s truly meaningful.” 

Tomáš Štefíček, corporate volunteer 

“Volunteering comes in many forms, and help in the garden or with cleaning is extremely useful and meaningful for us. Our priority is working with our clients, and for gardening or washing windows, we need extra hands. When people from outside our walls can come at one time to one place, it’s fantastic.” 

Jana Čajágiová, Director of the Prof. Karol Matulay Social Services Center for Children and Adults 

Thousands of People with Their Heart in the Right PLACE 

Our City is the largest corporate volunteering event in Central Europe. This year, it was held for the 19th time, again with the volunteers wearing the typical white T-shirts with the slogan “My Heart is in the Right PLACE,” created by Slavomír Artim, who works under the pseudonym Dyslektik.  

The inspiration for Our City was the New York Cares event, during which thousands of New Yorkers jointly clean and improve their city. Originally starting as a local initiative Our Bratislava, the idea broadened to the whole Slovakia. 

You can view the photos from Our City in our Facebook gallery.