/PHOTO, VIDEO/ The new Walk of Fame project was presented by the non-profit organization Portus Praha as part of the nationwide benefit collection and awareness campaign Akce Cihla. This initiative gives individuals, groups and companies the opportunity to help people with mental disabilities by purchasing an exclusive brick, which will be inserted into the pavement near the Na Vyhlídka Sheltered Housing facility in the village of Slapy with the donor’s name engraved on it.
The Walk of Fame connects the traditional benefit campaign Akce Cihla, which has been successfully running for more than 20 years, with the global model of buy-a-brick be-a-brick collection campaigns. The basic pillar of these brick campaigns, spread all over the world, are precisely the special personified bricks that become part of the sidewalks or walls near the financed objects.
“The first Czech brick sidewalk will be in the village of Slapy, because it all started there and there is also the first sheltered housing that was put into operation from the proceeds of the Action Bricks 2000 and 2001,” said director of Portus Praha Gabriela Masopust Štěpánková. “We want to create a new tradition. And we hope that as many people as possible will become part of it from the beginning,” she added.
Source: Youtube
The Walk of Fame initiative aims not only to create a space for individual involvement in a charitable act, but also to emphasize the importance of integrating people with mental disabilities into society. The Walk of Fame, which will be built from purchased bricks near the sheltered housing facility Na Vyhlídka, will become a symbol of unity, inclusiveness and mutual respect within society.
Proceeds from the event will finance the necessary complete renovation of Sheltered housing at Na Vyhlídka. Clients live there and, with the help of the Portus team, work on developing their skills to achieve the maximum level of independence. Many of them later move to a separate apartment, where they only use field assistance.
The building needs the necessary dehumidification and insulation, and the renovation of the separate studios where social service clients live is also necessary. The total amount needed is 1.2 million crowns.
Source: Youtube
Those interested already have the opportunity to purchase special bricks on which the name of the donor/company/team will be immortalized using the engraving technique. The bricks will be planted in the sidewalk near the sheltered housing facility Na Vyhlídka during October 2024.
The ceremonial “unveiling” of the sidewalk will take place in the presence of patrons of the collection and other personalities. Everyone who helps by purchasing a brick will be invited to the ceremonial first step on the sidewalk. “I know that each of us can make a small contribution to help those who have not been so lucky in life. You then have a good feeling, which is no small feat,” said Simona Stašová, who has been a patron of Akce Cihla since 2006.
Bricks can be purchased at www.akcecihla.cz/chodnik-slavy. The minimum value of one brick is 5 thousand crowns, but it is of course possible to donate more or choose from donation packages.
Mental enrichment
The Walk of Fame is not the only innovation of Portus Praha. The Mental Enrichment donation site has also received a revival, where currently, in addition to four specific social service projects that can be contributed to, interested parties will also find a newly launched blog. It wants to enable visitors to get to know better the lives of people with mental disabilities and to become familiar with the issues of social services and the non-profit sector in general.
“While proceeds from the Brick Event are used to build, reconstruct and the like, on the Mental Enrichment website you can contribute to improving the quality and development of social services that are not sufficiently financed by state money,” explained Gabriela Masopust Štěpánková.
At a different pace, but fully. People with disabilities are not alone
Portus Prague
A non-profit organization with many years of history. It is dedicated to providing modern social services to people with mental disabilities and contributes to their independent life. The Portus Praha team provides social services to residential, outpatient and field clients with varying degrees of mental handicap. As part of longer-term services, it provides sheltered and supported housing, helps clients develop their skills according to individual possibilities, and strives to achieve the maximum possible independence and integration into society. Transit programs are used for work, development and socialization exercises.
Since 2000, Portus Praha has been running the Akce Cihla benefit project. This nationwide charity collection and awareness campaign to support modern social services for people with mental disabilities includes, in addition to the well-known collection in the streets, many accompanying activities – benefit performances, small auctions, concerts, virtual runs, Christmas markets and others. A relative novelty is the possibility of online support in the form of E-Cihel. From 2020, donors can choose from six specific projects they want to support. Or they can donate without selecting a project – on Daruj E-Cihl. Another possibility of an online contribution is the purchase of charity items in the Akce Cihla e-shop.
Tags: Exclusive bricks sale People mental disabilities deserve support
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