We renovated the yard of the Károlyi István Children's Center

As part of a Volunteer Day, we not only participated in gardening and made outdoor pallet furniture, but also delivered a number of gifts to the children's home 

Social responsibility is an important part of Nhood Hungary's corporate philosophy. Our company places a strong emphasis on supporting important social causes, so we regularly support foundations and associations and like to participate in projects that serve the wellbeing of people. 

In this spirit, on 07.07.2022, we spent a whole day at the Károlyi István Children's Centre in Fót. We tidied up the courtyard, did gardening, renovated the benches and made pallet furniture to make the environment more pleasant for the children who live there.  

Today, there are nearly 23,000 children living in state care in Hungary. Most of them have lost their families due to neglect, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, addiction or death of their parents and are in foster care. The SOS Children's Villages provide a safe environment for nearly 400 vulnerable children across the country. The Fót facility, which has been operating since 1957, not only provides care for healthy children, but also runs a special children's home for youngsters with severe mental health problems and long-term illnesses. Moreover, they also look after asylum seekers who arrive in Hungary without a relative.  
 

During our volunteer day, we eliminated the remains of a former petting zoo, raked and planted flowers. An employee of the Hanna & Barbara Flower Shop - who brought her gardening expertise free of charge - helped us plant annual flowers, running roses, lavender, lemongrass, mint, raspberries and figs.
 

We also swept up the large yard full of dried leaves, transplanted and arranged the geraniums in aesthetic balcony boxes, plus sanded and repainted the old benches. It was especially fun to make the pallet furniture, which we also painted and made more comfortable with pillows. In assembling the furniture, we received expert assistance from an employee of Nexum 92 Kft.  
 

We were delighted to see the children getting involved in the activities. Their enthusiastic work throughout the day was also motivated by the fact that our colleagues rewarded the youngsters with generous points for their help in a points competition.   

In addition to the yard renovation project, we brought the children basketballs, nets, soccer balls, foosball tables, baseball caps and backpacks, and donated the gardening & DIY tools as well as 60.000 HUF to the Children's Home.  The latter one will be used by the institution to buy medical boxes and medicines. 

Meanwhile, the Green Local Patriot Movement held a playful session for the residents of the Unaccompanied Children's Home and the Special Children's Home – also belonging to the Fót institution. During the session, which was also organized by our company, children were treated to fruit in addition to the craft activity. 

The volunteer day ended with a ceremonial results announcement. After rewarding the children, the little residents of the home said goodbye to our colleagues by handing over the gifts they had made. 

"The magic and power of our work lies in the fact that we work with disadvantaged young people, whom everyone has already given up on, but we would never do that, because we see the hidden value in each and every child. Everyone had a great time on this active day, and we can unanimously say that it would be good to hold such programs more often. Thanks to the staff of Nhood, and special thanks to Mónika Krisztina Kovács Home Manager for the organization, and last but not least to the young people who were so enthusiastic all day." - said Head of Institution Pál Attila Páger in connection with the event. 

"Our work at the Fót Children's Centre was much more than just providing practical help. It was a great joy to see the children getting involved, experiencing what teamwork really is and what it’s like when individuals all contribute their own part for the common good. I’d like to thank all my colleagues who came or helped with the organization. We also thank the management and teachers of the Children's Center for their heartfelt support and participation. It was real value creation which we can all be proud of!" – commented Dóra Diána Szemerédi, our Head of CSR and Internal Communications.