From 1 to 23 December, the U. S. Steel Košice charity stand was an integral part of the Christmas markets in Košice. It was attended by 18 organizations and entities that offered various trinkets, Christmas decorations, candles for a voluntary contribution...

Traditionally, the most successful was the Union of Mutual Assistance of People and Dogs. In four days, they collected an incredible 8,292 euros! Romana Šerfelová, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Union: "We were very surprised ourselves. We were well prepared, we had our own calendars, T-shirts with our logo, sweatshirts...., chocolates made by our volunteer.... The final result surprised us very much anyway. There were also a few people who just threw money into the piggy bank and didn't want anything in return, not even chocolate. We really didn't even want to believe that we managed to collect so much. We will use the money mainly for feed and veterinary services. It is a huge help for us. We are very grateful and thank U. S. Steel Košice for being able to be at this stand."

If we wanted to compile an imaginary ranking of the top most successful, the second place would be taken by the Elementary Art School – Art Department, Kováčska 43. In two days, they collected 4,145.70 euros (last year it was 2,882 euros). Marko Bačo, director: "We had small Christmas ceramics, nativity scenes, hanging decorations, figurines... we had the fourth calendar of our school, cotton bags with a print of the sights of the city of Košice, postcards and greetings, but also Christmas wreaths decorated with ceramic works of our students. We will use the money to buy art materials: clay, drawings, cardboard... Our students were also regularly on duty from the stand and very nice interactions were created. The children themselves commented on their products, presented what and how they produced... Many parents came and were happy about what beautiful their children had created.  We also have classes for adults, so they also took turns at the stand and they really liked it when they saw how people admired their work. Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the U. S. Steel Košice Charity Stand."

For ten days, the Archdiocesan Caritas Košice and its individual organizational units from all over eastern Slovakia were at the stand. Thanks to the generosity of market visitors, they collected 4,719.30 euros.

After counting all the contributions received by 18 charitable organizations and entities in 23 days, we came to the amount  of 20,235.50 euros.  Of course, charity and helping others is not a race, but we are still pleased that the final amount collected was more than 4,000 euros higher than last year!