This year, we have been involved in the voluntary work of Chiesi Poland for the third time. Our activities are in line with the extensive charity work of the entire Chiesi Group.
Let me remind you that our MISSION is to implement among Chiesi Poland employees the idea of sharing their time and involvement by working together as the integrated teamwork, dedicated for young people in a difficult social situation.
The VISION that guides us is the make equal opportunities for a good start for young people who for various reasons have been deprived of a natural support in their families. We help them to be able to achieve their goals independently and consciously, thinking about their future. They have the same right as their peers to try to achieve success according to their own capabilities and to make the best use of the opportunities that the future will bring them. Hence a clearly defined GOAL according to which we operate, that is dedicating time and acting together for a selected group at risk of social exclusion (children from care and education centers, community centers, rehabilitation centers, schools from underinvested areas).
That's why this time we have decided to invest our energy and time in a renovation of the Community Day Center of the Children's Friends Society at 259a Grochowska Street in Warsaw. The facility has been operating for 18 years, in the center of the Grochów District- one of the oldest parts of Warsaw situated on the right bank of the Vistula river. A small building is surrounded with a garden of the area of about 2000 m2 and equipped with the playground facilities for children and some outdoor gym items.
About 30 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 from the entire Grochów District use the help of this Community Day Center. They live in difficult social conditions, experience violence, struggle with educational problems. The Center is also attended by children of single mothers and children from the families of a low financial status.
Everyday tasks of the Center are to help with homework, to give an educational support and to support in developing passions and interests. In cooperation with the Center for Culture Promotion, the Community Day Center organizes additional activities such as art, vocal and guitar lessons. Children can enjoy a hot or cold meal here. The facility provides an everyday availability of 2 educators, education helper, and manager as well as instructors for on the ad hoc needs for a few hours a week. The Day Community Center is open from Monday to Friday, from 14:00 to 19:00 and occasionally at weekends, depending on needs.
This year in organization and running of the campaign helped us the Kunst company. The scope of our activities was quite wide:
On a beautiful hot August morning - in the garden - it turned out that we are quite a large group of people. This time we were joined by more Field Force Colleagues than before. We divided ourselves quickly into teams and shared work to be done between us. Later on, after few hours of hard work, we exchanged the team members and scope of their work.
We started with great passion and energy preparing ourselves for painting the walls of the special art classroom where children prepare their performances or make ornaments and small gifts on different occasions. This is a special place where various traditional activities are celebrated during our national holidays or other special occasions.
The "stage" is always the best for the artistic performances. Due to the lack of space for its permanent location, we’ve made movable stage platforms from “euro pallets” and covered them with carpets. In this way, it will be possible to build the stage and step on to it during the ceremony.
The dream of children - especially in such a hot summer like this year – is a possibility of using the swimming pool, which is not always easy to reach. That is why we met their expectations and organized a swimming pool in the garden. The most clever team assembled it even with no instructions. Later on, we all watched the swimming pool to be filled with water but because of its very big size, it was not possible to immerse in the water on that day and have a good cooling swim ...
Another strong team was responsible for making the classrooms equipped with additional bookcases. They quickly put up the bookshelves together and after fulfilling that task they joined the others and helped them with the remaining tasks.
The high temperature was giving us a hard time, so with a great pleasure, we sat down to have a regeneration meal together in the open air. It tasted good ...
The tasks we have undertaken have proved to be demanding because we are not dealing every day with painting walls, we do not use the painting rollers and brushes. And assembling the swimming pool is also an unusual job to do. But we’ve made our best to fulfill our tasks: we’ve painted the walls of the art classroom and of the two toilets and we’ve done it very quickly - in one day only. Putting the bookshelves up together and planting the plants in a winter garden went so well and quickly, so there was enough time to start painting the fence...
Both the representatives of the Kunst company and the employees of the Community Center said that "the work was burning in our hands".
I trust that the holiday season or business duties made it impossible for some of us to participate in this action. Therefore, I would like to thank all who were present for their commitment, effort, and positive energy during their work, and those who were not able to make it this time, for their willingness to participate in the future.
