Corporate Volunteers Day
The AmCham Foundation (ACF) has again held its traditional volunteering program, ‘A Day to Make it Happen’, organized with the help of the Aprónép Alapítvány a Gyermekek Megsegítésére, the Zsótér Pál Alapítvány, the Snétberger Zenei Tehetség Kiemelten Közhasznú Alapítvány and the contributions of employees of AmCham member companies.
This year the ACF program offered three different venues between April 20 and 25, making it easy for volunteers to find the time and place most suitable for them. More than 60 people participated from Citibank, Tata, KPMG, American Express and many other companies.
Volunteers could meet new people as well as learn more about their colleagues while working on the garden of the Children and Youth Rehabilitation Department of the Children’s Hospital of Buda. “I would like to participate in voluntary work again, because it is a good program: I could get to know new people, colleagues I do not work with every day, and we got to work outside in the open air,” commented Dóri from KPMG. Kata from American Express explained, “We came here to help the hospital, but this is a great opportunity for team building as well.”
The department accepts patients from across the country, offering help to patients aged from two to 23 with serious, cumulative problems. Art-, fine art-, story- and music therapies are among those offered. The building and garden, situated in Budapest’s green belt offers excellent opportunities for complex therapy, although these are limited due to a lack of funds. The goal of the volunteer day therefore was to beautify the garden by planting bushes, flowers and a spice-garden, giving patients something to care for. “Having a nice garden will also help the children’s recovery,” explained Éva Iván, the communications specialist of the department, who added that it now hopes to acquire new diagnostic equipment and create a therapy workroom.
Another supported organization, the Mexikó utca Mozgásjavító Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School, EGYMI and College offered to show corporate colleagues how disabled children and adults spend their days in order to enhance sensitivity.
Zsuzsa Rajki, a longstanding member of the AmCham Foundation’s Board of Trustees, summarized the spring program: “I am completely satisfied with the event; we had enthusiastic and committed teams, who were not discouraged by hard work. Company representatives were discussing how they organized volunteer events – this is a great success for us, since it is no longer just we who are spreading the value of volunteering, but it is spreading from one company to the next. We see that there is an increasing demand for voluntary work, as they bring both the donors and the receivers closer, giving everybody a win-win experience.”
– by Anikó Kraft
