Great Ways to Give During the Czech Holiday Season

National Food Collection Day in the Czech Republic is this weekend; read about this and other opportunities for holiday giving

Expats.cz Staff Jason Pirodsky

Written by Expats.cz StaffJason Pirodsky Published on 07.11.2017 11:05:37 (updated on 07.11.2017) Reading time: 1 minute

One of the biggest misconceptions about Czechs is that they aren’t a charitable people. In fact, a 2017 survey found that charitable giving in Czechia reached an all-time high in 2016.

With the Christmas markets on the horizon and St. Nicholas and other festive events just around the corner, it isn’t too soon to start thinking about charitable holiday giving this year.

This year’s National Food Collection Day in the Czech Republic is Saturday, November 11.

It will be the fifth annual outing of the nationwide donation event organized by Business for Society in cooperation with the Czech Federation of Food Banks, Salvation Army, and Hope and Charity Czech Republic.

Some 750 stores including Tesco, Globus, Penny Market, Kaufland, Albert, Lidl, Billa, Makro, DM, and Rossman will be accepting dry goods and toiletries. Organizers have also begun an initiative with many of the participating supermarkets to put damaged produce and to use.

Last year the food drive collected 4.6 tons of provisions for the needy. For a map of participating stores and further details see here.

The Dear Baby Jesus (Milý Ježíšku) project was started by two high school students in 2013 and has taken off in a big way ever since, delivering thousands of gifts to children in foster homes and orphanages.

The website’s easy interface allows you to send headphones, winter parkas, sneakers, and other gifts directly to disadvantaged kids with just a few clicks.

The founders of the initiative say its transparency and simplicity is what makes their project unique. To see individual wishlists visit www.milyjezisku.eu.

The Giving Tuesday CZ campaign takes place with each Tuesday following Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping events as well as Cyber Monday. This year the event lands on November 28. See here for more details about the campaign.

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