People living in our county who made donations to the Red Cross’s collection baskets, volunteers who also collected in human-trying situations, companies that provide durable food, and stores that provide a collection point – are all integral to the fact that in 2021 the Hungarian Red Cross Hajdú-Bihar County Organization.
In its Christmas Love Action, the Hajdú-Bihar County Organization of the Hungarian Red Cross was able to give aid packages to more than 1,500 families after 15 December. The donations were given to large families, low-income retirees, and single, sick people before the holiday. The most important products for them were included in the packages: mainly durable food, cleaning and toiletries. The volunteers and employees of the organization filled most of the packages with the products received at the national and county collections of the Red Cross, as well as with the offers of companies or the food purchased from them.
Angels in disguise: volunteers in trying situations
“I know what it’s like to do without,” I gave a half-basket donation to the Red Cross collection point in Penny, Debrecen, on December 10, saying that on one occasion he became almost homeless through no fault of his own. By offering it, he gave ten families enough durable food. A Hungarian lady in a difficult life situation across the border came to the collection point the same day, bringing a dough and two chocolates; “That’s all I can give, but I want to help with that,” he said. On one occasion at the Auchan collection, a lady saved the celebration of many families: she also brought a half-basket donation to help. There were also touching experiences associated with the 2021 collections. One such gesture is memorable and makes you forget the difficulties. In the Year of Volunteers, shortly after Volunteer Day (December 5), let us highlight this sacrificial work.
In addition to these heartwarming experiences, they must also cope with trying situations and rude gestures, and they must be volunteers or co-workers who devote their free time to service.
Collections in stores, shops
Each offering at the collections was important. The days when every second customer added a product to the shopping cart were successful. The actions of the non-governmental organization with a long history are not “separate”, as its members and volunteers are civilians who help without compensation. “We helped together, as we said in our call: With you and for you,” the Red Cross said.
People in our county who made donations to the Red Cross’s collection baskets, volunteers who also collected in man-tested situations, companies that provided food for long-distance food collection, were all integral parts of the need for and sought after by the Red Cross County.
On the three weekends of December, they collected in a total of 12 stores with the volunteers and staff of the Hungarian Red Cross Hajdú-Bihar County Organization in 2021; in the Real, Penny stores and Auchan Department Store. Real has been hosting the action for 5 years to help people in difficult situations. As old acquaintances, the store managers and employees welcomed the Red Cross in some places and were happy when their customers put a product in the collection basket. It is the second year that the Hungarian Red Cross has launched a nationwide action with Penny Market. In our county, all three collections were considered successful in 2021 as a whole.
A total of 4862 kg of mostly durable food was collected in the actions of the county, which moved to the shops of the county.
Saviors of many families: supporters
The needy in the county could count on the supporters who think of them every year. There is nothing more valuable than regular or ongoing help, as it actually saves people on the fringes of being during the most critical time of the year.
This year, the Chamber of the Agricultural Industry donated a total of 3 tons of flour to the County Red Cross for the Hungarian Bread program.
Flour, one of the most basic durable foods, supplemented with this donation as well as collections, could be included in almost every package.
The Hungarian Red Cross delivered 500 5 kg food parcels to the county organization from the offer of the Mészáros Group in December. The boxes contained eggs, turkey sausage, noodles, and honey, among other things. The packages were distributed in almost equal proportions in the 7 Red Cross areas of the county.
Thanks to a new nationwide promotion, a package of 50 durable foods that can be easily turned into hot food, such as canned vegetables, arrived in our county.
In 2021, the number of donations received from larger, central and county-level collections, as well as larger batch donations, totaled 10,662.1 kg.
Young people and local communities for those in need
Reliable, transparent, long-standing: due to these characteristics, several organizations and groups are happy to choose the Red Cross when they want to deliver their donations and offerings to the chosen target group.
In Görbeháza, 8 entrepreneurs – the Angels group – initiated a collection with the Red Cross. The target group of the December action was cancer patients in the village. Nine patients were given fruit and durable food before Christmas thanks to the collection.
Also this year, Rock Suli collected for families in Debrecen. True to the organization’s custom, he asked what he needed and was firmly focused on those products. On December 15, he came to the organization’s office with more than 50kg of durable food and intact, high-quality toys.
The Health Committee of the Student Self-Government of the University of Debrecen announced a collection of chocolates in December. On December 20, nearly 100 bars of chocolate were handed over to the regional Red Cross to hand over to families with small children.
Hajdú-Bihar County Organization of the Hungarian Red Cross
