The Foundation for Slovak Children is calling on all people to give their last hour's salary of the milleneum to help Slovak children. The campaign has been running since the middle of October and boasts the support of many businesses and media.
The campaign has been all over the country, starting with a powerful television commercial plea featuring children 'speaking' in the dubbed voices of famous Slovak actors: "Greetings to all adults, we children need your help. Give us one hour."
You can give your year's final hourly wage to the Foundation's financial department, at bank account number 1999 2000 60/8080 (Bank Austria Creditanstalt) or you can simply call Slovak Telecom, Tel.: 018 222, and hold the line - 55 crowns per 20 seconds will be directly donated to the fund and charged to your telephone bill.
The money raised will go towards projects that try to develop better conditions for children in Slovakia's towns and cities. Examples of the Foundation's projects include finding foster homes for the country's 4,000 orphans, building community centers with fun activities that aim to get kids off the streets and away from drugs, sponsoring outdoor excursions for children who are bottled up in their apartment blocks, and seeking the integration of handicapped children into society. The Foundation has given grants to these types of undertakings for the last two years totalling over 13.7 million Slovak crowns ($325,000).
The average hourly salary in Slovakia is 55 crowns ($1.30), and the goal of the campaign is to get every employed citizen - all 2.1 million of them - to donate at least this much, which would add 115 million crowns to the Foundation's coffers.
The project was founded in Great Britain as "Children's Promise" in 1991, and won the support of international figures, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Honorary members of the Foundation in Slovakia include Ann Johnson, the wife of the former American ambassador, Slovak artists and other officials.
