Awards support charity work

The Dobrého Pastýře Hospice in Čerčany would not exist were it not for the financial support of one man. Founded in September 2008 with the aim of caring for the terminally ill, and the only place of its kind in the central Bohemian region, it has looked after more than 300 patients lacking the means to care for themselves in life's final months.

Marek Stanzel, owner of Porzellanfabrik Langenthal, a glass, ceramics and concrete company, donated 2 million Kč ($116,550) that helps the hospice run.

For his efforts, Stanzel won the award for Individual Giving at the 12th Annual Via Bona Awards presented Sept. 22 at the U.S. Embassy.

"I met with some of my old friends from high school and heard about this project, which caught my attention," Stanzel said. "Our society sticks its head in the sand and tries to hide death, as if it's only something that happens in films. We must remember, however, that most of us will one day need this kind of care."

"There was nothing at Čerčany until he came up," says Tereza Dvořáková, director of Dobrého Pastýře. "He trusted in our project, and he promised to give us the resources to reach our goals. He kept his promise, giving us not only the money, [but] also helping us to create the building and gathering the team."

In the beginning, there were just five volunteers to keep the institution going, but now a team of 70 professional employees takes care of the hospice's needs.   

The Via Foundation has supported 2,400 charitable projects with grants totaling more than 210 milion Kč since 1997, making it the largest such organization in the country.

"We put much more emphasis on the way of help and on the results of help, and not only in the amount of the donations," said Táňa Hlavatá, program director for the development of philanthropy at the Via Foundation.

Also recognized at the awards this year was ČSOB in the Large Corporation category, for its innovate employee volunteer program.

"There are a lot of employees who are not indifferent to the world around them. We motivate them and give them the opportunity to be involved helping NGOs in their free time," said Pavlína Folovská, who oversees the project for ČSOB.

T-Mobile won the Employee Giving and Volunteerism award for establishing a charitable fund financed by employee donations that, to date, has distributed nearly 10 million Kč to 150 projects.

"We are still aware that the amount of money we are contributing to society could be higher, but, even though the economic situation is not optimistic, to reduce this amount would be a step back in our social commitment," said Martina Kemrová, spokeswoman for T-Mobile Czech Republic.

Josef Kvapil won an award for his long-term financial and material assistance to volunteer projects; Jaroslav Sklenář, for donating 1 million Kč to build a low-energy and environmentally friendly school in the Indian Himalayas; and Pavel Cinder, for his ongoing support of the Committee of Good Will - The Olga Havel Foundation.

Carlos Vicente can be reached at
features@praguepost.com