Over the course of the summer, we supported several children’s camps with food donations, which helped ensure that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds could spend their summer in a meaningful way. We received heartwarming reports from the organizers, and we are sharing a few brief excerpts and photos from them here.
Kartali Children's Camp
On behalf of myself and the children, I cannot thank you enough for your help, which greatly contributed to the success of our week-long camp. Thanks to your help, the children were able to enjoy what they called the „magnificent, royal breakfast”—that is, milk and cereal. I can say with certainty that 36 of the 45 children would never otherwise have access to a milk-and-cereal breakfast. Half of the 45 children do not have access to fiber-rich juice at home, and none of the children buy tomato juice—they only know the kind their grandmothers make. I wanted you to know all this because you weren’t there when we told them that the treats you sent them had gone to a very, very good place.
Please convey our thanks to everyone, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you.
Belle Children's Camp
Joy, fun, cheerfulness, fresh air, exercise, water, interesting activities, beautiful locations… These words could describe our summer camp this year, which we organized in Szarvas, located on the banks of the Holt-Kőrös River.
City kids have few opportunities to spend the whole day in the fresh air, by the water, and in a pleasant, beautiful setting. The children we bring here return home enriched by their experiences and recharged with energy. A daily part of our program was spending an hour with the swimming coach at the city pool. We took a boat ride on the Körös River aboard the Katalin 2, which the children were even allowed to steer themselves.. On the enchanting Water Stage, we watched a thought-provoking and entertaining fairy tale play, but we also observed the owls living in the trees and some unique water birds; we took long walks and laughed a lot.
In addition to physical and mental well-being, we also consider healthy eating to be important, and we place a strong emphasis on it at this time of year. Our ingredients include market-fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta made from durum wheat, cheese and dairy products, honey, muesli, and freshly prepared homemade meals, which we prioritize. This year, we received support for this effort from the Food for Life Foundation, which helped us not only with procuring ingredients but also with preparing the meals and using them in the healthiest possible ways. This was a double blessing for us, as we had several children with special dietary needs joining us—for some due to food sensitivities, for others due to personal beliefs—and we prepared different meals for each of them. And among the ingredients this year were many that we hadn’t been able to afford within our budget until now. We are very grateful to the foundation, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for what they have done for the children, thereby contributing to their greater sense of comfort and their physical and mental well-being.