For the 18th time, the awards have been accepted by ordinary people who do extraordinary things

Again this year, the event was organized by the Volunteer Regional Agency DoRA, the prizes were handed out on Wednesday at the Šeříkovka KD in Pilsen. The Jéčko choir, led by Jaro Smejkal, accompanied the entire evening with its performance.

“This year, we received 46 nominations and it was not at all easy to choose the main award winners from among all the nominees, because Křesadlo undoubtedly deserves each of them for their volunteer work,” said Romana Štěpáníková, chairperson of the DoRA Regional Volunteer Agency.

Volunteers from the region accepted the award

The award process was launched in July 2023 with a public call for volunteer nominations. The jury, consisting of representatives of the Pilsen Region, the Department of Social Services of the City of Pilsen, Municipal District Pilsen 1, Municipal District Pilsen 2, Municipal District Pilsen 3 and the organizing organization DoRA, awarded three main prizes to Křesadlo, one special jury prize and special thanks.

The main prize was awarded to Jiří Posledni for his activities in the Klášter Chotěšov Association, Linda Albrechtová, who is dedicated to educating the visually impaired, and Vlasta Fialová, who works as a volunteer in the St. Jiří – Municipal charity Pilsen. The special jury prize went to Andrea Sommerová, who works as a volunteer at the West Bohemian Museum in Pilsen. Special thanks go to Irena Popová and Jiří Lokajíček, longtime volunteers from TyfloCentra Plzeň.

Grand prize winners

George the Last he is a founding member of the Chotěšov Monastery Association in 1993. He has literally lived with the monastery and the activities around it for an incredible thirty years. As a graphic designer with ties mainly to the Pilsen art scene, he gradually took over the organization of art exhibitions in the monastery. If there are four to six exhibitions per season, it is hard to believe about 120 exhibitions and openings, and thanks to this the monastery has gained a reputation as a very prestigious exhibitor. He is a person who devotes a lot of his time to the monastery, whether as an amateur historian, an organizer of life in it, or previously also as an administrator and guide.

A rare fresco awaits rescue. Chotěšovský monastery is organizing a collection

Linda Albrecht she is active in educational activities for the visually impaired, to which she devotes a lot of her free time as a volunteer. Through her blog and face-to-face meetings, she helps to inspire visually impaired people who have doubts about whether they can participate in normal activities with their handicap. With his blog, he also addresses the lay public so that people are not afraid of contact with the visually impaired and that they know how to communicate with them or help them.

Vlasta Fialová works as a volunteer in Home for the elderly St. George – Municipal charity Plzeň, with which he has been cooperating since 2014. Every Tuesday afternoon he comes and reads to clients. He is also in charge of managing the local library, borrowing and registering new books. Lectures are very popular with clients and they regularly attend them. But her activity is not only a reading club, she gives joy to clients by talking with them about their joys and worries and reminiscing about the past together.