Contacts:
Caritas Croatia
Kaptol 26, Zagreb
+385 1 481 20 22
+385 1 481 21 03
caritas.croatia@caritas.hr
www.caritas.hr
Caritas Croatia's for 1000 joys
Christmas campaign
On Tuesday 20 November 2007, Caritas Croatia (CC) organised a press conference in the Public Hall in Zagreb's Knežija suburb presenting the fifth national For 1000 Joys humanitarian campaign earmarked for one thousand families in need in Croatia.
Caritas Director Fr. Ivan Milovčić and the Head of Caritas' Christmas campaigns Boris Peterlin presented this year's campaign.
“Last year we raised 5.2 million kuna and over the past four years that the campaign has been run over 16 million kuna has been collected to help over 15,000 families”, said CC Director Ivan Milovčić speaking about the results of Caritas’ campaign which was originally launched in 2003.
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries of Caritas' Christmas campaign are families in need throughout Croatia regardless of their religious or national affiliation which is in keeping with the mission of Caritas throughout the world.
This year's focus for families to receive assistance concentrated on families with inadequate housing conditions and in particular elderly households requiring certain practical maintenance works to their homes that could improve the conditions that our elderly citizens live in during their delicate ages
Acting Director of the Zagreb Diocesan Caritas Sr. Jelena Lončar spoke about some of the projects earmarked for the elderly in the region of the Archdiocese including “Home Care” encompassing 160 elderly and sick persons living in their own accommodation. By helping them conduct general household chores in and out of the house with hygiene, spending time with them and just speaking with them each week for a couple of hours – but if need be several times a week – we endeavour to help them face their everyday problems of loneliness or to conduct ordinary chores around the house, faced with illness or marginalised. Three to four times a year we organise gatherings that are usually attended by about 200 pensioners. Since 2000 to date we have organised about 30 such gatherings with about 8,500 pensioners in all attending”.
The press conference was organised for about three hundred pensioners who are beneficiaries of Caritas’ aid with lunch. Entertainment was provided by the Zagreb Marching Ladies from the Elderly People’s Home Trag.
The Maksimir Marching Ladies are led by Ms. Nada Majcen and have been on the scene for the past 14 years and count 16 members. They have performed more than 100 times around Croatia, in Zagreb, Karlovac, Vinkovci, Sisak, Umag, Piran, Poreč, Pula, Vukovar…..
The average age of these courageous women is around 60 but their liveliness goes to show that even in the dusk of our lives we can bring joy to others and remain young at heart.
The project’s objectives
In addition to the fundamental objective of this campaign – to raise funds, goods and services for those in need – CC wishes to achieve another objective in strengthening the values of Christmas – love, solidarity, unselfishness, sacrifice, peace and so on.
“To strengthen and develop a network of solidarity that will help make Christmas last throughout the year and to inspire similar actions to help those in need and in fact that campaigns such as this prove to be unnecessary in the future – solidarity should become part of our life style”, Peterlin said explaining the objectives of the campaign.
A third, indirect objective is to motivate children and the young to identify those in need and to do something about it while gaining experience of taking responsibility for others, particularly those who are not able to care fore themselves.
This year’s Caritas product earmarked for children in primary and secondary schools are stickers designed for the young for this particular campaign.
Primary and secondary schools can be involved in CC’s campaign and have the opportunity to use 50% of the funds collected for “their own purposes”, i.e. someone in their school environment that is in need. The remaining 50% should be paid to CC to in turn help those in need throughout the rest of the country.
Elect Christmas!
“This year’s campaign tells us that if we wish to live at the level of the values of Christmas then at a certain moment in life it is worth re-electing them and sometimes faced with hardship to once again obtain them. That’s why this year’s motto is “Elect Christmas!”
“For this year’s campaign we chose the motto “Elect Christmas!” Amongst the mass offers being presented everyday we need to elect CHRISTMAS and the values of LOVE, PEACE AND LIFE that are at the core of Christmas – that is the right choice. In light of these values – the values of Christmas – feast days when we celebrate God’s love of man – in an effort so that people can live fully in peace with God and people – it becomes possible to value all other choices in life and identify sure signs.
These signs point us in particular to help others: our loved ones, our neighbours in need and distress. During our campaign we wish to motivate everyone – to celebrate God – and recognise Jesus whose birth we are celebrating in each person in need and to jump to their aid. Giving a part of oneself. Or giving oneself – one’s time, care or a kind word is something everyone can do and in that way giving becomes generous”, Peterlin said explaining the campaign’s motto.
EACH ONE OF US IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND US. WHAT CAN I DO?
Companies can help this campaign
- By making a payment to our account no: 2340009–1510126452 (poziv na broj 07)
- By buying an appropriate Caritas Croatia Christmas card or
- Making a donation in kind of their goods or services.
Citizens can help the campaign
- By making a payment to account no: 2340009–1510126452 (poziv na broj 07).
- Calling the Caritas Croatia charity phone: 060 9010 (price of a call is 6.10 kn)
- By buying a Caritas Croatia Christmas card in their parish.
In order to make it easier for citizens to make donations CC has prepared pre-written deposit slips that can be found at all branches of PBZ throughout Croatia.
During the For 1000 Joys campaign thanks to the benevolence of Hrvatske šume, Caritas Croatia will once again this year for the fifth year in a row, organise a Christmas tree sale. This year Christmas trees (with roots) will be sold in Zagreb on Saturday 15 December on Cvjetni trg and also in Zadar, Čazma, Osijek and some other towns around Croatia.
“We want to motivate other businessmen to become involved in this charitable project”, a member of the Dukat Board of Directors responsible for Sales and Logistics Alen Fontana said at the press conference presenting Caritas Director with a symbolic glass of milk representing Dukat’s donation valued at 100,000 kuna.
Half of Dukat’s donation was in products. This valuable donation is in continuation of Dukat’s “Milky Way to Goodness” project launched this year in June and Dukat has made donations to Caritas institutions throughout Croatia in products with a total value of over 200,000 kuna.
Executive Director in the Office of the Management Board of the Privredna banka Zagreb for Corporate Communication John Knezović informed that the bank had once again as in previous years divided 300,000 kuna that was to be used for their Christmas party and donated it to CC for the Christmas campaign.
“We fully support Caritas’ For 1000 Joys campaign and have from its very beginning in 2003 and this is our way as a company to participate in building a society concerned with common good. Once again this year PBZ has shown its solidarity and bout several dozen thousand Caritas Christmas cards to be sent to its business partners and friend”, Knezović said.
Every one attending this special press conference was given a package with Dukat products and a winter scarf donated by Pliva.
In addition to those companies already mentioned above Caritas Croatia wishes to thank all those companies that have made their contributions in the past including: Croatia osiguranje, Exportdrvo, HEP, Hrvatske šume, Jedinstvo, Nestle Hrvatska, STSI, Ured Grada Zagreba za zdravstvo, rad, socijalnu zaštitu i branitelje, Vlada RH, Večernji list, 24sata, Pliva.
CC wishes to especially thank the CAVARPAYER design studio and the authors of the concepts and creative solutions that have in the past four years successfully relayed CC’s message to the public, children and young people in Croatia.
// 21. 11. 2007
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with the Church and People of Bosnia-Herzegovina - Pilgrimage of prayer in Zagreb parishes
- Download info material
