Many people would have turned inward, focusing on self-recovery after such a tragic event. But Venclík took a proactive approach to his suffering, making a documentary about the court process he endured and helping establish a literary competition in memory of his son at Filip’s high school.

But perhaps his most distinguished act has been creating The Filip Venclík Endowment Fund for Assistance to Victims of Crimes and Promotion of Activities Against Violence. The Fund works together with Bílý kruh bezpeăí (White Circle of Safety) to provide psychological, emotional and legal assistance to victims of violent crimes.

Venclík was recently honored for his work by the Czech charitable foundation VIA, which hosts an annual VIA Bona awards ceremony for philanthropists in the Czech Republic. The awards are given to an outstanding individual and several companies who have gone to extraordinary lengths to help improve society through their activities and donations.

“The award is designed to encourage and develop the notion of philanthropy, and make it visible,” VIA Director Jiří Bárta says.

“This event is to honor, showcase and display amazing commitment to helping others in the community,” adds Brad Hoar, development manager for VIA. “Through their commitment, these people have earned a right to be acknowledged.”

The winners were chosen from almost 50 nominees from across the country. Making the final selection every year is a difficult task, according to Hoar. “We don’t just look at crown amounts of what someone is doing,” he says. “We are trying to highlight those companies and individuals who are striving to do something effectively.”

Bárta puts it more succinctly: “VIA likes to support people who, instead of complaining about how things are, take responsibility for the betterment of their lives and community.”

The light of hope

At this year’s ceremony, held Sept. 19 at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, awards were presented in four categories.

The winner for Supporter of Innovative Project was Skanska CZ, for its support of an initiative to save forestland.

In the small- and midsize-companies category, the Hobra-ˇkolník firm was honored for its support of forest preservation efforts in the Broumov region of north Bohemia.

The Corporate Donors award went to Metrostav for its long-running philanthropic activities. Metrostav was in particular singled out for its bold support of the construction of the Nadűje Asylum in ÎiĎkov and the St. Jan N. Neumann Hospice in Prachatice. As Hoar notes, “Metrostav was confident enough to link its name with a place for the mentally ill. This is unusual: Most companies don’t want that association. And this company isn’t shying away, they did what they felt would really benefit society. That is very impressive.”

The award for individual donor was presented to Venclík by Czech actor Jan Potmű‰il, who has met with tragedy himself, when his car crashed while he was driving back from an Ostrava event at which actors and students were rallying support for the 1989 revolution. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. From his wheelchair, Potmű‰il spoke emotionally about the importance of Venclík’s work. “People need to see the light of hope,” he said.

The greatest gift

VIA was founded in 1997 to support community development programs in the Czech Republic. The idea stemmed from an effort by former U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia Bill Leurs and his wife Wendy, who started the Foundation For a Civil Society to raise funds for AIDS programs. VIA is continuing what they began.

With its current focus on philanthropy, the organization hopes to energize a long-dormant practice. “During communism, philanthropy was dead,” explains Bárta. “Communism suppressed social participation and insisted that the government would take care of problems.”

Bárta adds, however, that he has seen a tremendous difference in the past several years. “Today, more and more corporations are making efforts, and also more and more individuals.”

Hoar agrees that things are getting better, but still sees plenty of room for improvement. “[Philanthropy] is still too atypical in the Czech Republic,” he says. “We want to say there are a lot of people doing it, making everyday life better for people.”

In the midst of all this recognition, Venclík remains modest. “It’s a privilege for me to receive an award,” he says. “But I’m not doing charity work for the sake of receiving awards. In general, when you do good, you do it for yourself.”

In dealing with the loss of his son, Venclík has been forced to come to terms with the darkest aspects of society. “We as private individuals don’t ordinarily see or know about evil — we only see evil when it strikes our private lives, like a poison arrow,” he says. “Only then do we see that it is something that concerns every one of us.”

Venclík feels that society is too often indifferent to such forces, and holds media representations of violence, political unresponsiveness and the profit-motivated disinterest of business responsible. “My objective is to educate people, because people are not responsive to evil,” he says. “I see myself in a special position to be able to teach the general public about the real effects of violence. Our need for comfort, our need to ignore evil, is cowardice, and it stands at the back of the spread of evil worldwide.”

He has no illusions about the nature and effects of his philanthropic work.