The Concert for Peace was staged in the Great Reformed church on May 6, jointly organized by the University of Debrecen, the István Tisza Foundation for the University of Debrecen, the City of Debrecen, and the historical churches with a view to providing assistance to the victims of the war in Ukraine. As a result of the cooperation, 25 million HUF had been paid into the account of the GTIDE Foundation before the concert itself. This amount continued to grow during the concerts and the weeks following it, totaling over 36 million HUF worth of donations.
Based on the decision of the Organizing committee of the Concert for Peace, the money will be given to organizations that help refugees with food, housing, or education. The money raised was handed over at a ceremony at the University of Debrecen, on Thursday, July 7.
- Our thanks are due to all those who participated in the organization and execution of the events, and donating itself. It was reveled the cooperation has a power strong enough to set a good example. The Concert for Peace was organized and executed within a short period of time, which showed that remarkable results can be achieved even in such a short time. Our goal is clear: these funds can only be used to help people in need; this way our community will be able to help charity organizations do more efficient work. An important message was revealed by the concert: the city and the entire region are humane, ready to help whenever help is necessary. Offer came from banks, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as from large companies. All this proves that economic actors regard charity as important, underlined György Kossa, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the István Tisza Foundation for the University of Debrecen.
Károly Fekete, Bishop of the Tiszántúl Reformed Church District expressed his thanks on behalf of the churches participating in the charity events.
- All denominations and religious communities are continuously collecting and donating to help war refugees. This is not only our moral duty but also our religious conviction. The fact that we support Transcarpathia does not mean that we only help Hungarians, as we are aware that the region is the hinterland of Ukraine, where refugees flock from diverse places, waiting to be helped. Aid organizations know exactly what kind of support is needed, and guarantee that the donations go exactly where they are intended, the bishop stated.
István Puskás, deputy mayor of Debrecen, said: the action showed the strength of the community.
– Those that were present in the Great reformed Church had an experience of a lifetime; it was an uplifting feeling to gather for such a noble cause. Such an event reinforces shared values, and helps to live the experience of becoming a community and coming together, but all this is worthless if these values are not implemented in practice. The intention to act was shown in the donation linked to the Concert for Peace. We are very grateful to the University of Debrecen for contributing to the city’s cohesion with this initiative. Those in trouble can count on the Debrecen community – said Istvan Puskas.
At the briefing, the representatives of the foundation, the university, the city, and the historical churches handed over the checks representing the donations to the representatives of the charitable organizations supporting the refugees.
The biggest donation, HUF 20 million, went to the Debrecen Charitable Board. The money will be used to winterize the Dorcas Leisure Center and Recreation Park, which provides temporary accommodation for refugees, as well as housing for refugee families. The offer was accepted by the president of the board, Éva Juhász Rózsahegyiné. She said that a total of 300 refugees are being taken care of in Debrecen, about two hundred are in Dorcas, and a hundred people have been placed in dormitories, with families, and in sublet apartments.
The Hungarian Reformed Charity Service received a donation of 7 million HUF, and the Subcarpathian Bridge Aid Program received more than 1.3 million HUF. Károly Czibere, chairman of the charity service’s board of trustees, explained that the donation will be used to strengthen charitable activity and to support the work at the border assistance points.
The Roman Catholic Caritasz also plays an important role in helping Ukrainian refugees; their work has been supported by the GTIDE Foundation to the amount of HUF 5 million from the donation. Zoltán Krakomperger, general vicar of the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza, said: the money will be used to prepare aid packages containing durable food and cleaning and hygiene products.
The Eastern Hungarian Youth Foundation received 3 million forints, and Istv1áén Szeszák, chairman of the board of trustees thanked organizers for the donation; the foundation is going to use the donation to provide free meals and organize children’s camps.
Press Center - BZ
