Czech supermodel's charitable activities mark 25 years with Letná fundraising run

Expats.cz is teaming up with the Tereza Maxová Foundation for a unique event dedicated to raising money for disadvantaged kids. TERIBEAR Moves Prague a.k.a. Fun Day with the Bear is a sports charity event taking place from Sept. 12 to Sept. 18 where participants do good deeds by counting kilometers.

After two years of virtual events, the charity run is returning to its original format: a community sporting event in Prague's Letná park.

Tereza Maxová is a high-profile Czech supermodel who has throughout a career that began in 1989 posed for Patrick Demarchelier, Mario Testino, and Peter Lindbergh. Her image has graced the cover of British Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan.

Somewhat of an expat herself, Maxová who hails from Pardubice and once studied law at Charles University and now splits her time between Prague and Turkey with her husband, Turkish businessman Burak Oymen. They have two children: Mína, 13, and Aiden, 11. Tereza also has a son Tobias, 22 from a previous marriage.

In 1997, Maxová established the Tereza Maxová Foundation to support underprivileged children in the Czech Republic.

According to the foundation, 24,000 children in the Czech Republic grow up outside their biological family, mostly in foster care. The country ranks among the lowest in Europe in terms of the number of children who grow up outside of their families, with some 8,000 placed in institutional care.

The foundation's aim is to help to keep children in a safe family environment and promote and support foster parenting to compensate for shortcomings of institutional care upbringing. In its 25 years of activity, hundreds of thousands of children have been supported and almost half a billion crowns were distributed.

TERIBEAR, the “hero teddy,” has become the symbol of the Tereza Maxová Foundation and one of its most visible fundraising projects -- an annual run, returning in 2022 after a two-year Covid-era hiatus. The last TERIBEAR sports charity event was supported by over 23,000 participants.

"It is symbolic for us to return to the place where TERIBEAR first started eight years ago. In addition this year we are celebrating 25 years since the foundation's inception, and it will also be one of the ways for us to remember the foundation's beginnings and celebrate a quarter of a century of helping disadvantaged children," says Terezie Šverdlinová, director of the foundation.

Throughout the week, participants can run or walk anytime night or day to support the charity of their choice. The event's partners will donate CZK 25 to your chosen charity for every kilometer walked or run on the 1.3 km long TERIBEAR track.

A tracker will count kilometers on the designated circuit and send them to your electronic account so you can keep track of how much you've raised via a running scorecard. There's no need for training, and no experience required. Simply register now and book your chip.

Upon registration, you can choose which charities you'd like to help. A one-time registration fee of 250 CZK will go directly to the fund. Individuals, families, or companies are all invited to join the event.

The Expats.cz team will be there on Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. to walk, run, and support a great cause. If you'd like to contribute to this initiative as part of the expat community register here and enter the code: "Expats" (the registration fee of 250 CZK per person will be donated to the Tereza Maxová Foundation).

Expats.cz sales Director Pavla Engel says of her past experience with the event: "I have always enjoyed taking my children to the event and teaching them about charity. They loved picking their own charity to support."