"Cold weather, but great mood and a job well done" this is how the volunteer day on Saturday, May 24, can be briefly characterized at the dog shelter in Haniska near Košice.

The cold and rainy weather was not a good omen, but the volunteers showed their big heart for the dog shelter and came in an extremely large group. Several of them also came with family members, including children. Together with the shelter workers, they formed work teams.

After the introductory word of the coordinator Jana Bernátová, director for accounting for primary and final production, who has been helping to organize the volunteer day for the fourth year, and the director of the shelter, Romana Šerfelová, the activities were presented, after which the volunteers were divided into work teams and focused on the implementation of their fulfillment.

The first group consisted of "strong men". To carry gravel to the dog enclosure, exactly such were needed. Tomáš Kuriatnik, Vice President for Information Technology, Juraj Mondik, Director for Material Management and Matúš Harakaľ, Director for Accounting Services and Financial Reporting, were joined by hockey players from HC Košice Gabriel Špilár, Dominik Riečický, Anton Bartoš, Ján Bartoš, Patrik Jurčák, Matúš Havrila and Sebastián Mitro, and together with the manager of the Košice hockey club Miloslav Klíma This time they had training directly in nature. The hockey players also strengthened their muscles when carrying the pen to a new place in the paddock.

The team of carpenters was traditionally led by Alexander Bartsch, a VKB1 regulator, who came to the volunteer day with his wife Marianna, an economist of accounting for invoicing, and six-year-old son Samko, the youngest volunteer this year. He commented on volunteering: "Volunteer Day is a good example of how to lead children and show them that each of us can contribute to the improvement of our surroundings. A child is not brought up only by words, but mainly by example. The whole family is still looking forward to the volunteer day."

The skilful team of carpenters also included Soňa Berková, a laboratory technician and her husband Jaroslav, Marcel Šesták, a sales support sales officer, and Michal Dečo, an information architect who also volunteered the previous day during the Steelmakers Drop of Blood.

This group, which came to the volunteer day with their own tools, had their work "handy". They made and installed a new dog shelter in the paddock behind the quarantine center and installed a tin roof on the shelter they made last year.

A group led by experienced sawmillers Gabriel Holub, General Sales Manager for Europe and Slavomír Gerenda, a warehouseman of stained scrolls at DZ SVa, who also volunteered blood and came to the volunteer day with his twenty-five-year-old daughter Patricia. This team also came armed with their own equipment - saws. Sawn firewood was stored in shelters by Brigita Kurucová, director of the office of the Vice President for Information Technology and leader of WIN, Eva Poláková, material management planner, Noémi Orbanová, scholarship holder and Zuzana Brindová, packaging and logistics coordinator, who came to the volunteer day with her daughters, nine-year-old Lilly and twelve-year-old Stelka and his brother-in-law Stanislav with his sons, twelve-year-old Alex and fifteen-year-old Oliver.

Under the skilful hands of a group from the financial department, a metal house has "grown", which will be used to store garden equipment.

Silvia Gaálová, vice president for financing and sponsor of the Women's Network, which organizes the volunteer day in the shelter, worked in this assembly group. About this year's Volunteer Day, she said: "I would like to thank all the volunteers for their enthusiasm, time and energy that they devote to improving the conditions of abandoned dogs.  Today's volunteer day was endangered due to the constant rain. In the end, it was attended by the most volunteers in the last four years. As always, a lot of work was done today and there was a great atmosphere."

Members of this group, Juraj Sabol, General Manager for Strategy, Ivan Ľapin, General Manager for Operational Accounting, and Marek Manica, Director for Revenue Management, prepared well for the volunteer day by studying the assembly instructions in detail and bringing their tools. Sixteen-year-old Gregor did not lag behind his teammates in terms of his skills, who came to the volunteer day again together with his father Adam Dudič, general manager for general accounting.

Due to the rainy weather, the traditional women's activity, painting in the exteriors of the shelter, was canceled. However, women's help was needed in trimming the overgrown bushes. Mária Župčanová, General Manager for Credit and Banking, Mária Ferčáková, Transport Officer, Jana Ciburová, Chief Credit Analysis Analyst, Liliana Hadžegová, Credit Analysis Economist, Laura Tomašovičová, Management Associate, and her friend Martin, who cut the tallest twigs, were skillfully illuminated with a horticultural pruning.

After the end of this activity, the steelmakers were not afraid of further work and helped where necessary: taking out waste, repairing potholes on the road...

After the weather stabilized, when the rain stopped, Robert Rick, the shift foreman of the pipe expedition, began his work, mowing. He skillfully mowed the grass and overgrown greenery on the bank of the stream. His wife Andrea and twelve-year-old daughter Miriamka, who walked the dogs, also came to the volunteer day.

"I would like to thank the steelmakers very much for all the work that was done today. The weather forecast was not favorable, but after the rain the weather cleared up and a lot of work was done. Many thanks for your long-term support of the shelter." RomanaŠerfelová, director of the civic association Union of Mutual Aid of People and Dogs, which is managed by the local shelter, appreciated the help.

The fact that they know how to do things with a big heart and enthusiasm and that even bad weather is not an obstacle was shown by the steelmakers at the volunteer days in the dog shelter this year as well.

And they are already looking forward to the new year.

Photogallery: Ján Kisucký