The T-Mobile Fund supports volunteers at the hospital in Hradec Králové

• More people wish to take part in volunteer work
• The hospital in Hradec Králové is considering expansion of the volunteer program which has been running successfully for six years
• The T-Mobile Fund is supporting the program with a contribution of CZK 60,000

Prague, 9 February 2009 - The work of volunteers has become a part of everyday life for both patients and staff of the University Hospital in Hradec Králové. Everybody has become accustomed to the volunteers and appreciates their discrete yet significant work, and the number of people interested in becoming volunteers is increasing. The hospital is now considering expansion of the program, which the T-Mobile Fund is supporting with a contribution of CZK 60,000. 

The volunteer program has been organized by the Civic Advisory Center (Občanské poradenské středisko, o.p.s.) in Hradec Králové since 2003. "Over the years, the volunteers have helped many children and adult patients and also contributed to the propagation of volunteer work in the Czech Republic. Such activities deserve our attention and support," says Martina Kemrová, Senior Head of Corporate Communication and spokeswoman for T-Mobile.

"Our program has become quite well-known. New candidates come on their own even if we do not organize any promotional or recruitment activities. Thanks to this, the number of our volunteers has remained stable," says Zuzana Hloušková, program coordinator. "Sometimes people have to stop working as volunteers, but it is never because they no longer enjoy working for us. New people keep coming, so we still have around twenty active volunteers."

Sylva Staňková became a volunteer in June last year. She is retired and comes to the hospital once a week and accompanies patients on their way to medical check-ups at the department of internal medicine. "I am glad I can help them. Mainly elderly people sometimes find it hard to get oriented and welcome any help and company," says Ms. Staňková, who is glad that volunteer work allows her to be among people and maintain social contacts. "I have worked in a team of people my whole life and therefore I like to help as a volunteer," she says.   

Volunteers at the hospital in Hradec Králové work in the Children's Surgery and Traumatology Department, the Children's Clinic, the First Department of Internal Medicine and the Gerontology-Metabolic Department. The Civic Advisory Center supports their work with approximately CZK 250,000 a year, of which CZK 60,000 comes from the T-Mobile Fund. The hospital's management is now negotiating with the Center on the possibility of extending the volunteer program to the Children's Neurosurgery Department.

The T-Mobile Fund is in its fourth year. Funding allocated for the Hradec Králové region is managed by the VIA Foundation, which selected 36 projects out of 118 applications this year and distributed CZK 2 million among them.

More information: Zuzana Hloušková, e-mail: info@ops.cz, tel.: 49 850 0351, web: www.ops.cz.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.