Storytelling time. :)
While working for Generali Employee Benefits - GEB in Prague (04/2014-01/2020), I brought a hamburger-shaped piggy bank to the office.
I always tried, in every workplace, to make it more humane - to make it feel a bit like it's mine.
I wasn't used to carrying coins - in my home country, their value is low, so people tend to use banknotes when paying cash.
So I always put my Czech coins in that piggybank and encouraged my colleagues to do so as well.
Well, like I always say, all good things come to an end... so better things can follow.
I loved that job in Generali - I loved the crazy-diverse people I worked with, all the things I learned in my ten years and three countries with the company, and I loved all the traveling I got to do in the many countries I supported in our region and around the world.
When the time came for me to leave - I quit Corporate to travel the world and run my own EntrepreneurShip activity - I had this heavy piggybank full of coins.
I knew I wanted to do something impactful with that cash.
I always felt, deep within my gut, mind, and heart, that humanity cannot progress if, at an individual level, we only look after ourselves.
The world is bleeding when we don't care about others, too.
But I didn't know what to do.
So I did what I do when I lose my compass: I looked within.
Poverty is one of my greatest fears.
Growing up in a post-communist country in the 90s, I have seen poverty high and low. I have seen inequality, corruption, and addiction at school, in traffic, and so on.
My Mum worked for many years in an orphanage, and I often volunteered with an NGO there since I was 14 years old, so I saw firsthand what poverty does to a family and what it means not to have the means to support oneself.
I felt the impact of a society that allows its people to fall through the cracks.
But back to 2019.
After searching within, I did the next best thing: I started searching online for a cause to support.
I came across what was then a Czechs and expats Facebook group supporting a group of homeless people in Prague by giving hot meals outside the main train station every Saturday afternoon and occasionally donating clothes.
If you ever thought that it takes many to have an impact, yes, you are right.
But it takes just a handful of people to have the initiative and a few more to believe in them - good deeds, no matter how small, stack up. :)
In 2019, I took my 300 EUR worth of coins to the bank and turned them into an idea that evolved into a campaign to buy 83 sleeping bags for our homeless friends.
That Facebook group became an NGO called FriendShip Prague - it has a board, a regular volunteer group, processes in place, strategic collaborations, and so on.
➡️➡️➡️ Find out more & and support us here: https://lnkd.in/exAqm9x4 (you can donate your time, skills, and/or finances).
Thanks to YOUR generosity and our awesome volunteers, FriendShip Prague had a powerful start to 2024! Together, we've supported the homeless community with food, clothes, and crucial help in this cold month.
Every donation and every volunteer matters. Interested in joining us? Learn more about volunteering here: https://lnkd.in/gbrNpE6a
#friendshipprague #volunteering #prague #communityimpact #thankyouvolunteers #thankyouforyoursupport
Looking forward to run for a good cause with ImpacHK