CESCI is committed to social responsibility and year after year, it strives to contribute to the strengthening of community values through a variety of initiatives. This year, we joined a Christmas fundraising campaign to make the holidays more joyful for the families living in the Temporary Home for Families in Etes.

As a result of the fundraiser, we were able to donate large packs of diapers in various sizes, baby care items, formula, baby food and winter baby clothing, children’s clothes and shoes. In addition, to make the holiday a time for play, laughter and personalised attention, a large number of board games, puzzles and personalised gift boxes for children aged 0-15 years were sent out.

In addition to the fundraising, CESCI has run similar campaigns in the previous yearsas well. In the Temporary Home for Families in Zugló run by the Maltese Charity Service, between 2019 and 2021 several of our colleagues helped children in the institution to overcome their school backlog by providing regular tutoring in Hungarian language and literature, history, mathematics and English. In addition, at the request of the BMSZKI Temporary Home for Families, the CESCI’s work organisation used its own resources and labour to paint an empty room and furnish it with tables, chairs and shelves to serve as a community space for community-building events, as well as for craft, sports and music sessions for children and thematic training and self-training events for adults.

The CESCI staff also strives to reduce the environmental impact of its daily activities and to be environmentally conscious. For this reason, our working group also took part in the PET Cup environmental initiative, with a litter picking tour on the Bodrog river in 2022. The collected rubbish was sorted and bagged, with plastic, glass, metal and non-recyclable municipal waste being sorted separately. Nearly 50 bags of waste were collected, 50% of which is recycled by Hungarian recycling companies.

Besides, there was also an example of voluntary social responsibility and our professional profile coming together: a multifunctional training and coordination centre and a marketplace were built in Gagyvendégi in the framework of the cross-border employment action plan, with the help of Via Carpatia EGTC and the professional assistance of CESCI. Although the construction work was completed, the price rises meant that there was no money left for landscaping around the community centre. So the CESCI staff travelled to the site in 2023 to help bring the project to a successful conclusion by digging, planting trees and flowers, and by physical work.

Fundraising activities similar to this year’s have been carried out regularly during the Covid epidemic (and later after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine). During this period, the workgroup tried to help by organising an internal fundraising, which was used to buy and deliver durable food and cleaning and hygiene products to the Temporary Home for Families.