Prague, Feb 1 (CTK) – A record sum of more than 100 million crowns was collected within the Czech annual Epiphany public fund raising in January, Jan Oulik, from the organising Caritas CR charity group, told CTK on Wednesday.
The fund raising’s proceeds are used in aid of people in material need, including families with children, handicapped and seriously ill people, seniors and other endangered groups.
The 17th national Epiphany fund raising took place in the first half of January.
Its proceeds reached 100,422,897 crowns as of February 1, including 1.2 million that donors sent through SMS messages during an Epiphany concert.
The proceeds will be distributed to support several hundreds of projects. Almost two thirds of the sum will remain in the respective regions where the money was collected, and used to finance projects of local Caritas branches.
Another 15 percent will go to projects of church diocesan charity groups such as the operation of a dormitory in Cheb, west Bohemia, and a depository of humanitarian aid items.
Ten percent of the proceeds will be spent on humanitarian aid and development projects abroad, 5 percent on Caritas CR’s project, and the remaining 5 percent will cover the fund raising’s organisational costs, Oulik said.
About 60,000 volunteers, mainly children, took part in the 2017 Epiphany fund raising campaign, collecting money in a total of 22,000 contribution boxes.
A year ago, the 50,000 volunteers with 21,329 boxes appeared in the streets, collecting a total of 98 million crowns.
