Bad weather did not stop the planned volunteer day at the Center for Children and Families on Hurbanova Street. The weather was not good, but the desire to help was stronger, so several jobs were moved indoors.

Again, mostly a group of colleagues from the Purchasing department gathered here. Right from the early morning, they started painting the metal railings on the balconies of the main building, that really needed fresh coat of paint. In addition to the center's employees, the large group of painters also included our colleagues: Martina Kaprálová, Martina Kováčová and Miroslav Antol. Thanks to the team's commitment, in addition to the planned three shorter side railings, the railing located along the entire building was also painted.

The interior needed fresh coat of paint as well. Martin Čamák, Juraj Guba, Gabriel Dankó, Mária Kurucová (in the photo from left), Dominika Cuprišinová, Jakub Jacko, Dušan Opršal and others took up brushes and rollers. The walls of the four children's rooms in the separate house were given a new coat of paint, and today the children can enjoy the clean, renovated space to the fullest.

In addition to painting, sorting and cleaning out the basement began. Rudolf Juroš and Ján Malajter, with the help of other volunteers, took old furniture, damaged toys, and other unnecessary things to a prepared container. Later, when the rain stopped, they moved outside, where they managed to clear the old, unusable wood from the premises.

The wives of Michal Bigaň from the Investments Department and Gabriel Bujnovský from the Blast Furnaces work at the center for children and families. Their help to the center is therefore an annual tradition. All four of them, as a well-coordinated team, assembled new furniture for the children's rooms.

U. S. Steel Acting President Mike Piekut and his wife Allison also came to greet the volunteers. The center's director, Silvia Komorová, treated them to the famous Moravian cake, which was probably not missing from any of the shifts.

A nice volunteer collaboration was established between the Purchasing department and the company Panda Košice, which offered to mow the center's vast grounds. Its employees managed to do it a few days before the Steelmakers for Košice event, even before the rains arrived. The young people from the center also helped with the beautification of the area in which they live.

Thanks to determination, a positive atmosphere and team spirit, all the planned work was completed. The day showed that when there is a will to help, not even bad weather can stop it. Clients and employees of the Center for Children and Families on Hurbanová Street can now enjoy a more beautiful, safer and cozier environment. And another, eleventh photo of volunteers in Steelmakers for Košice T-shirts will be added to the center's wall. We are looking forward to the twelfth one.

Photographs: Arpád Köteles / Peter Lonc