What We Do

The power of music gives hope - The ISKIERKI (SPARKS) Effect

A particularly moving moment was the concert by the Children’s Oncology Orchestra on 27 May, of which we were a partner. This is the most original and surprising example of the therapeutic power of music, combined with the outstanding quality and scale of the event.

On one stage, young patients currently undergoing treatment or having recovered from cancer came together under the direction of Piotr Sutt, alongside musicians from the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adam Sztaba, outstanding artists and a choir, creating an extraordinary event full of emotion, courage and hope. This unconventional format was joined in by Sting himself, presenting his Virtual Pre-recorded Performance. The artist, known for his social activism, had prepared a unique recording of the track 'Desert Rose' for the event. It was performed jointly by both orchestras, the choir and the concert’s guest performers. It is an experience that stays with you for a long time and serves as a reminder of the immense power of community and empathy. All proceeds from the concert were donated to support cancer treatment for children.

WARBUD FOUNDATION ACTED AS PARTNER OF EXTRAORDINARY EVENT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

950 young people in the audience, thousands of students in classrooms throughout Poland and Ukraine during DIGITAL YOUTH FORUM 2023 which took place on June 6 in Złote Tarasy shopping mall in Warsaw.

This was the 8th edition of DYF dedicated to the creative use of new technologies, online security and a conscious use of social media. The Forum was available free of charge for students at secondary schools and primary school grades 7-8 and translated into Ukrainian and sign language. The partner of the event was WARBUD Foundation - Warto Pomagać, which has been supporting valuable educational initiatives since it was established.

‘The world with its rapidly developing technology gives the young generation unlimited opportunities to develop their passions, interests, knowledge, interpersonal relations and social activities. I wish you that you could use this opportunity to the maximum, but also wisely. I hope that what you will hear and see during the Forum will inspire you to become even better people using the internet and new technologies in a responsible and positive way to build your future,’ said Agnieszka Wąsowska, Member of the Management Board of the WARBUD Foundation - Warto Pomagać, addressing the young people during event opening.

Young participants had an opportunity to listen to extremely inspiring speeches. The speakers were among others an artificial intelligence specialist - Pamela Krzypkowska, crisis interventionist - Tomasz Bilicki, football and tiktok enthusiast - Łukasz Chwieduk, ambassador of body positivity - Martyna Kaczmarek, and activists from the East! Initiative - Dominika Lasota and Wiktoria Jędroszkowiak.

Dopamine Cinema

In addition to lectures and workshops, the event consisted of the premiere of the documentary 'Dopamine'. Its authors have created an attractive material for young people, full of interesting scenes, animations and reflective statements, without didacticism or patronizing. Its greatest asset were the protagonists - young people sharing their own experiences which caused lively discussions and thoughts among DYF participants.

‘This is not a movie about the internet being bad saying that we should stop using it. Nor that anyone should feel guilty of using it... The question is what to do so that we can control the technology, not the technology could control us,’ explains one of the heroes in the first scenes of the film.

Young people do not know the world without access to the Internet, they have been using smartphones since childhood. They are active in social media, establish relationships, learn and look for entertainment on the web. They often spend more free time online than offline.

'Dopamine' presents the mechanisms at the neurological, psychological and social level, which make the use of social media, games and applications a problem for teenagers. This is a film showing the benefits of the online world and what they should better look for away from the screens.

The media patron of DYF was Rzeczpospolita daily, Radio TOK FM and "Głos Nauczycielski.”

FAIRY-TALE THERAPY AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL

The WARBUD Foundation together with Zaczytani.org (Book Lovers)  Foundation are the creators of a unique social and educational campaign aimed at Polish and Ukrainian children aged 8-10. The project consisted in writing reating tales:"Best Friend" and "Where's Kuki?", telling about the same event as seen through the eyes of a Polish girl and a Ukrainian boy.WARBUD employees - as part of employee volunteering - lent their voices to the characters of the original fairy tale by recording an audiobook. It will serve in thousands of schools and care and educational centres of the Children's Friends Society as an educational tool to support adaptation and integration processes and build good relationships. The audiobook was recorded in Polish and Ukrainian languages. The war beyond our eastern border resulted in an influx of refugees to Poland. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Education and Science, on September 1, 2022, 185,000 children from Ukraine began their education in Polish schools. This unique publication will help the youngest children to understand each other better and to eliminate stereotypes and prejudices which are sometimes applied automatically.

CONSTRUCTION OLYMPICS

As every year, we also supported the Construction Knowledge and Skills Olympics. This project has a permanent place in the calendar of events of the Architectural and Construction School Complex in Warsaw. The Foundation helps also in that way to restore the due prestige to the construction profession and tries to attract Polish youth to them.

BOOK LOVERS - ZACZYTANI

WARBUD Foundation is also the founder of a library containing 500 books for children and adolescents at the Children's Aid Center in Gdańsk within the framework of the program “Zaczytane Biblioteki” - Book Lovers’ Libraries. In 2020, the Foundation was also a partner of the “Zaczytane Ławki” campaign (Book Lovers’ Benches), in front of the Pediatric Hospital of the Medical University of Warsaw. Book Lovers’ Benches are urban furniture items in the shape of open books, placed in the public space, providing residents with inspiring works of art and free access to audiobooks. The benches were designed by renowned Polish artists and creators who ensured the unique character of each bench-sculpture.

The projects activate, educate people and promote reading, with particular emphasis placed on helping hospitals and family orphanages by providing books for children, adolescents and adults. It is a form of connecting the artistic, scientific and business environments by creating social development projects.

ONLINE LEARNING

The Foundation purchased and donated Lenovo laptops with the necessary software and a Canon printer to children from eight family orphanages all over Poland. Material support was provided to school-age children in need, as only online classes were organized during the pandemic.

CLASSY LESSONS!
Classy lessons is an innovative educational project run by the Children's University foundation. It aims to strengthen students' social competences. The Foundation provides teachers with two types of educational kits to be used for work with children. The kit designed for grades from 1 to 3 entitled Professor Glass and Explorers is an inspirational game which teaches young children how to cope with emotions and solve problems creatively. The kit entitled Aim at the Project! designed for grades from 4 to 6 encourages children to implement a civic budget project at school and transforms students into a team of committed citizens who are able to plan tasks, cooperate with one another, overcome communication problems and express their views.

Honorary patronage of Classy Lessons was taken by the Ministry of National Education.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:

funding of 80 educational kits for children from small schools in the Warmia-Masuria, Kuyavia-Pomerania, Lesser Poland and Opole Voivodships.

MAGIC SHOW - A GREAT ILLUSION
The Magic Show charity concert which took place on April 24, 2016 at Warsaw Expo Hall, was organized to support the activity the Polish Red Cross. The star of the program was the magician Marcin Muszyński who based his repertoire on his own etudes which are ranked among the most difficult ones in the world. All proceeds from the event went to the Polish Red Cross and helped people in need.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
joining the group of donors.

CEMS CHANCE - TAKE A CHANCE
It is a four-day educational program addressed to young people from families in financial difficulties living in small towns. Their carers are often unable to give their protégés reliable advice about their future and development. Therefore those teenagers gain their whole life experience only at school benches. They pursue no passions, nobody teaches them soft skills. CEMS Chance is supposed to change that! During the event young people plan their career paths. They take part in networking (making valuable friends and having fun), gain a lot of inspiration and motivation to take on ambitious challenges.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
many years of support for the charity - lectures, workshops, trainings and discussion panels implemented as part of the project.

HELLO SCHOOL!
The project Hello school! run by the Foundation Pożywienie Darem Serca (Food is a Gift from the Heart) is addressed to school children and adolescents aged 7-18 who are under the care of educational and care facilities. It aims to help prepare pupils for year-round education. The implementation of the program involves a preparation of school supplies packages.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
long-term financial support for the initiative.

WIELKODUCHY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
Wielkoduchy (the Great-Minded) is a program addressed to primary school pupils aimed at enhancing the social activity of children aged 6-13. At this early stage it is the easiest to shape a human attitude for a later life. The project aims to raise good and sensitive people ready to help others by showing the value of volunteering from an early age. Volunteering teaches children cooperation, responsibility and perseverance. Among the workshops run in Wielkoduch Club there are lessons about Wielkoduch (in which children find out about the world of volunteering), classes on how not to waste food (children learn how to properly use food and prepare for professional food collections); there are first aid lessons (little volunteers are prepared how to save lives even in the least expected situations); creative workshops (in which children find out about various art techniques used for volunteering initiatives).

The programme is organised by CREO – Civic Education Development Centre whose partner is the foundation PODAJ DALEJ (Pass It Forward). The program is implemented under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Greater Poland Voivode, Mayor of the City of Poznań and Greater Poland School Superintendent.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
financial support for the program.

CHOPIN LESSONS
The aim of the project is to strengthen the willingness to learn among young people and provide them with cultural education. The Chopin lessons which took place during an attractive trip to Warsaw and Żelazowa Wola were attended by students from the Building School Complex in Radom, as well as by a group of 30 students with mathematics, natural science and music skills from Junior High School No. 2 in Rzeszów. The participation in the two-day trip was a reward for their academic performance.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
Long-term organizational and financial support for trips for young people following in the footsteps of Fryderyk Chopin.

DIPLOMA PERFORMANCE OF THE ACTING SCHOOL
Students of the Acting School run by Halina and Jan Machulski presented their work - a performance based on the play The Beautiful Lucinda - during the premiere shows which took place on June 27 and 28, 2011 in the Białołęka District Culture Centre. The comedy chosen by the students is set 200 years ago in Warsaw.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
financial support for the preparation, staging and running the diploma performance of The Beautiful Lucinda.

GOLDEN TROWEL CONSTRUCTION TOURNAMENT
This is a competition organized for years in Grudziadz by BLOK Educational Team. It is aimed at promoting building trades. The competition, listed in a Ministry of Education register, is a test of students' skills and its winners are exempted from the written part of an exam confirming professional qualifications.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
annual subsidy for the competition.

FESTIVAL FOR EDUCATION
The intention behind this extremely interesting event is to support broadly understood education of young people. The aim of the originators and organizers of the festival is year-round assistance to young people in finding their own environment and pathways for development as they are the true foundations of a creative personality. As they declare the Lost - Found program will reach students who want to change their current lives. The organizers will also look for the lost in primary, junior high and high schools, in family homes, orphanages, in foster families, among those on truancy and runaways.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
financial support.

BUILDING EDUCATION PROGRAM
A program initiated by WARBUD under the title Our Student. Our Employee is one of the first educational projects of that type in Poland. It has been in operation since 2006. The project facilitates career start for young people, raises the level of professional preparation and restores the prestige of the building trades. The program allows for a thorough preparation of graduates of vocational schools in Elbląg and Radom to take up a job. As part of it, WARBUD offers comprehensive support to schools - trains teachers, sponsors student scholarships, co-finances the purchase of school and work equipment, participates in the costs of French language lessons and gives graduates an opportunity to participate in internship programmes on its construction sites.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
project initiation and its full implementation.

RESCUE BEAR ACADEMY
The program aimed at reducing the number of road accidents involving children lasted from November 2008 to April 2009. 6 000 primary school pupils from 38 primary schools in the Mazowieckie voivodship took part in the program. The protagonist of the action - Teddy Bear the Rescuer - contacted children by sending them letters which were full of good advice and surprises. Each of them was dedicated to traffic safety, crime risks, fire prevention as well as health protection and basic first aid rules. Practical exercises combining fun and education were conducted by representatives of emergency services: police officers, paramedics and firemen. The programme of the activities also included eye, hearing and lateralization tests.

Contribution of the foundation "WARBUD – Warto pomagać”:
financing rich teaching materials necessary to launch the campaign.