Young Philanthropists

A program for young people who want to give back to their communities.

Through this program, we support children and young people up to age 26 in organizing benefit events to raise money for needy individuals and organizations. The aim is to awaken an interest in philanthropy and community engagement among young people.

With our support, through Young Philanthropists:

  • teams of children and young people hold benefit events for good causes
  • adult patrons (teachers, scout leaders, etc.) gain experience in guiding youth towards philanthropy -other people in their community attend youth benefit events and make donations
  • hundreds of other young Czechs learn about their peers’ philanthropy work

We help by providing:

  • small grants to help cover costs of benefit events
  • matching of funds raised up to CZK 20,000 per project
  • bonuses for teams that raise over CZK 30,000
  • customized on-site workshops for teams covering fundraising, PR, teamwork, legal issues, etc. -consultations on project ideas and planning and communication tools
  • Via staff site visits to teams and benefit events

In the past 6 years:

over 1,200 children and young people have participated – and raised almost CZK 4 million for good causes!

In 2019 the program included:

  • 30 teams of children and young people
  • 101 benefit events
  • 26,527 visitors to their events
  • 10,000 donors

SELECTED 2019 PROJECTS

  • Charity concert for Vojtíšek

    A group of high school students in Podbořany held a charity concert for Vojtíšek, a disabled boy whom they have been helping for the past two years. At the event they also sold refreshments and auctioned off local art. They raised CZK 65,965 ($2,900) to help cover Vojtíšek’s physical therapy. The sum was matched by Via Foundation to bring their total to CZK 103,078 ($4,500). Many of the students know Vojtíšek personally and can see how the physical therapy that they have enabled is helping him.

  • A step in the right direction

    Class 8.B from Nové Město nad Metují carried out various activities to help a mother of autistic twins. They collected apples, organized a Christmas market and produced a charity calendar.They raised CZK 65,364 ($2,870), which Via Foundation raised to CZK 77,349 ($3,400).

  • We’ll put a smile on your face

    Girls from the educational institution in Janštejn help out at the local senior citizens’ home and at the dog shelter in a nearby village. They were so taken with the homeless dogs that they decided to join forces and raise money for the operational costs and veterinary care for sick and abused dogs. Each girl has a different skill – some make bracelets, some paint, several are good at sewing. They created and sold handicrafts at crafts fairs in their area and also informed people about dog adoption opportunities at the shelter. They raised CZK 10,747 ($470) and another CZK 17,961 ($780) through online fundraising on Darujme.cz. With Via’s contribution they were able to donate a total of CZK 48,708 ($2,400) to the shelter.