PSii Patrol – 116 Sii volunteers worked for over 260 hours in a nationwide project to support local shelters for homeless animals
Sii Poland employees are eager to get involved in helping homeless animals, which is why a nationwide PSii Patrol volunteer project was created as part of the 5th edition of Sii Power Volunteers Program. Over the span three months, almost 120 volunteers, who worked for over 260 hours, joined the endeavor in 4 local shelters and collected over PLN 50 000!
Whether it is a dog or a cat, they all are our wonderful and faithful companions – sometimes, caring guardians, too. Sadly, more and more of those pets are left abandoned and end up in local shelters, while the situation of local facilities is difficult, to say the least. Sii Poland employees decided to help the animals by engaging in PSII Patrol voluntary project. The initiative was welcomed with a great deal of interest all over Poland. Sii employees collected food, blankets and toys. Then, over the weekends in the shelters, they built pens and repaired kennels, cleaned the grounds, took dogs for long-desired walks, and even arranged an animal hairdresser’s salon. In total, as part of the project, 116 Sii Power Volunteers worked for over 260 hours in 4 local shelters: Oława Shelter, Ciapkowo in Gdynia, Shelter in Borek and City Shelter for Homeless Animals in Katowice. The amount that was collected for shelters including internal fundraising went over 50 000 PLN!
The initiator of the PSII Patrol Project was Tomek Werbik, a Team Leader from Wrocław Sii Branch. – 3 years ago, my wife and I adopted 2 homeless dogs from a temporary home: Feluś and Sara have been with us ever since – Tomek says. – What’s more, my 10-year-old daughter went to the shelter in Oława to walk the dogs there. It turns out that volunteer help is very much needed. One day, I saw an advertisement on the Internet that the hostel in Oława launched a fundraising campaign for repairs at pomagam.pl. I thought that it would be worth supporting them, so I submitted the application in the 5th edition of Sii Power Volunteers and it worked! We received the funding – he adds.
The rules of the project were simple. Each Sii Employee could engage in the campaign inviting his friends, acquaintances and family (in Sii Power Volunteers projects there must be at least 2 Sii volunteers). For each hour worked at a local shelter, Sii donated money to renovate Oława shelter. Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków and Wrocław branches all took part in the event. In total, 116 volunteers under the guidance of local leaders launched fundraising and planned weekends over which the volunteers worked for selected shelters. The collected amount will support the renovation of Przystanek Przytulisko facility in Oława and the Ciapkowo shelter in Gdynia. It is worth mentioning that as a result of the event, 2 dogs and 2 cats have already found new homes.
– On behalf of our four-legged friends, we would like to thank Sii and its employees for their help and support – says Justyna Duszkiewicz, a volunteer and a member of Przystanek Przytulisko Oława Association. – In just a couple of hours your volunteers did splendid work, helping the animals go by every day, because there is nothing that a dog enjoys as much as a dry, safe shack, a full bowl, but most of all – a long walk and good company. The amount gathered owing to the involvement of volunteers, will allow us to complete the renovation of Przytuliska: we will roof all pens, pave the grounds with concrete tiles, replace the remaining part of the fence and barriers between pens and catwalks, and buy new kennels – she adds.
– In Ciapkowo over 70 incredible, sensitive, people full of empathy visited us – says Anna Elgert from OTOZ Animals, Ciapkowo Shelter in Gdynia. – Each person brought with them items that are really needed – food, toys, cleaning products, treats, pet beds, and padding for playpens. Thanks to this initiative we had a chance to show how we’re working and tell more about the shelter. We are pleased to have done something together, especially since people who visited our humble abode spent most of their time helping the oldest pets – she adds.
Sii Power Volunteers Program – what is coming up in the 6th edition?
A large group of volunteers got involved in PSii Patrol project. Such events show that charitable acts are important for our employees. It also proves that “together we can do more”! The 6th edition, including new initiatives, has just started. This time, we’ll be supporting the Iskierka Foundation, refurbishing the Magnetic Resonance Laboratory at the Department of Oncology, Hematology, and Chemotherapy of the Upper Silesian Child Health Center, conducting programming classes for kids from the Gastroenterology Department of the Pediatric Clinical Hospital in Warsaw, and organizing day camps for children from orphanages situated near Warsaw.
