Working in the non-profit sector – and working with children and the elderly in particular – is sometimes challenging, but very fulfilling and enriching. Every smile of a child either in the hospital or children´s home or a grandfather or grandmother in a home for the elderly, every child´s dream we help to fulfill or when we together find a suitable part-time job, is always an assurance to us that this work has a deep meaning.
When Chance 4 Children began personal and material assistance in a single children’s home more than twenty years ago, it did not need any major facilities. But as the number of institutions it was able to help grew, it became clear to the budding C4C team that it would need storage facilities for material aid before being distributed to the orphanages, later also to facilitate supplies for the growing team of hospital clowns, cheering up hospitalized children.
And at that moment Ilja Hašek entered the scene!
“In the small town of Zilina, near Kladno, Ilja Hasek was a name known to everyone”, smiles Manfred Franke, C4C’s founder and director. According to Manfred, being the owner and operator of Uniservis s.r.o., he oversaw a growing enterprise at the outskirts of the village, employing a vast number of residents of Zilina.
“When it became apparent that we needed a facility to store the many pallets of humanitarian aid we began receiving on a regular basis for C4C’s Robin Hood program from all over Europe, Ilja was the only name that kept coming up as a solution for the problem”, Manfred continues. “The question was: was he up to the challenge? We had no money to pay!”
When the two men met and Manfred explained the need, Ilja immediately and whole-heartedly jumped on the bandwagon! “He was one of the kindest men I’ve met”, says Manfred.
The deal was sealed and C4C received a sizeable warehouse from Uniservis to store the many items they received within the framework of their Robin Hood initiative.
This unique relationship was to endure for more than 20 years and as C4C’s needs kept expanding, so did Ilja Hasek’s generosity. When C4C outgrew the first warehouse in Zilina, Uniservis offered a warehouse triple the size in Kladno.
“If I were to put the pencil to this and tried to figure out how much we saved by not having to pay for a storage for the last 20 years, the figure probably is worth of 2.5 million CZK”, ponders Manfred. “It’s fair to say that C4C wouldn’t be where we are today without Ilja and folks like him!”
And so it was with a great deal of thankfulness and gratitude that Manfred and C4C co-founder Rafal Wojas went to see Ilja Hasek to thank him for being a partner and friend for the past two decades. They were informed ten months ago that the aging warehouse would go the way of all flesh (metal) and needed to be torn down to make space for a manufacturing facility.
So, after many years of cooperation, for which we thank Uniservis Hašek s.r.o. company from the bottom of our hearts, the search was on for a new space. It was kindly provided by ESA logistika in Kladno, headed up by Marek Cvačka, who immediately saw the need and kindly came to the rescue. And not just the premises, the company gave us an invaluable helping hand in moving and transporting stored things from one place to another.
“I want to heartily thank Mr. Pup for the coordination of transport, for his generous communication and ability to solve any problem I came up with,” says Zuzana Šrámková, coordinator of the Robin Hood program. “The company offered smooth solution every time a problem occurred and took care of everything in an incredibly professional way. The dealings of both Mr. Pup and the storekeepers, who helped transport things to the new premises, and with whom we now communicate when we need to open it, were admirably helpful, kind, and friendly.”
What to say in conclusion? Organization like Chance 4 Children would simply not be able to function without storage space, certainly not to the extent that it now operates. People, who are helping us to solve this problem, are invisible but indeed indispensable members of our team. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their wonderful cooperation and we look forward to many more years to come as we, together, continue to make children in hospitals, children’s homes and seniors in homes for the elderly, smiling and happy.
THANK YOU FROM ALL OUR HEARTS!
Author: Zuzana Šrámková
