Volunteers help out in Košice

U.S. STEEL Košice, the biggest employer in eastern Slovakia, has continued its tradition of volunteer events helping the city and the local community. On May 15 and 16 a total of 400 volunteers helped eight local organisations in the third year of the U.S. Steel for Košice event.

The volunteers painted the fence of the kindergarten for challenged children. The volunteers painted the fence of the kindergarten for challenged children. (Source: Jozef Jarošík)

U.S. STEEL Košice, the biggest employer in eastern Slovakia, has continued its tradition of volunteer events helping the city and the local community. On May 15 and 16 a total of 400 volunteers helped eight local organisations in the third year of the U.S. Steel for Košice event.

On the Friday and Saturday volunteers donated blood and spare clothing as well as painted and cleaned the premises of a crisis centre, a dog rescue centre and others. Apart from making the surroundings of the city and its institutions nicer, the volunteers got to know more about the activities of these organisations.

Just as during the preceding two years, various professions were represented: apart from workers and managers from individual divisions and plants, there were also lawyers, ecologists, and procurement, finance and IT specialists. They came along with their colleagues or with family members.

At the end of the event, U.S. Steel Košice’s president, George F. Babcoke, who also helped in several places together with his wife Kathleen, commented: “In the USA and in Slovakia there are many people who care about others and who do not hesitate to help out. I am proud that steelmakers are among them.”

Throughout Friday and Saturday company employees delivered redundant clothing, towels, bed linen and kitchen utensils to various facilities run by the Archdiocesan Charity.

“This collection has solved several problems at once for us,” Alica Štarková, the organiser, said. “At the Crisis Centre for mothers with children we currently have three expectant mothers all ready to have their babies, and we really needed some sets of baby clothes and some prams – and now it’s all sorted.“

The volunteers also painted the gate and the fence at the centre as well as the children’s climbing frames and benches on its premises. They also helped build a tent camp at Košice Zoo, which will accommodate children from across the region throughout the summer.

“On Volunteer Days, there were whole families coming to our zoo again and again,” Štefan Kollár, the zoo’s director, said.

The steelmakers’ enthusiasm also pleased Peter Pavlov, the director of a local geriatric institute, who also actively joined the work.

“We’ve done a tremendous bit of work cleaning up and tidying the greenery all around the grounds here,” he said. “In just one morning, 50 people managed to do as much as would take us several months to do on our own.”

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