Saturday afternoon at the Day Centre in Strážky was filled with the spirit of charity, mutual help and a friendly atmosphere. That is what our spring friendly barbecue was like.

The idea of combining tasty food cooked over a fire, a pleasant setting, a programme for children and a charitable purpose had been taking shape for some time in the head of Ľubo Šmindák, aka the chef from the woods. With the help of many good people, we managed, as the first spring days arrived, to make this idea happen.

The aim of the friendly barbecue was, after difficult times, to bring the community together again in our town, enjoy a beautiful spring day and at the same time to help the sorely tried people from Ukraine. There was something for everyone: children, young people, parents and seniors alike.

Thanks to the financial and material support of our town, the company Marko Tatry, and Ľubo himself, we were able to provide tasty food for all of us.

Ľubo and his "forest spirits"   together took care of tasty sauerkraut soup and grill tasters and the whole time kept an eye on the fire and the sausage roasting.

The volunteers from Face Club and the civic association Expression o.z. in cooperation with town employees arranged a  sports and creative programme for children. The kids could try lots of unconventional sports, from jumping stilts, soft bows and mega bingo to the bungee rope, crossnet and a mega Jenga tower. Creative workshops with an Easter touch were prepared inside the Day Centre.

The volunteer fire brigades from Spišská Belá and Výborná took care of demonstrations of firefighting equipment and the work of a dog handler. The children could also try spraying a hose and, under expert guidance, practise life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Peter Tetemonte selflessly provided inflatable attractions, adding even more to our children's positive experience of the day spent together.

And finally, Joži Mačutek and Matúš Andráš documented the whole event with their cameras and made it unforgettable.

And what about the statistics?

All of youwho came were very hard to count. But what we know for sure is that we handed out almost 300 sausages, a full cauldron of sauerkraut soup, 200 grill tasters and dozens of litres of lemonade.

More importantly, together we managed to raise a lovely sum – €781.83, with which we will help the people of Ukraine. We will send the proceeds to the account of the organisation People in Need (Človek v ohrození), who help not only at the borders but also directly in Ukraine.

During the event there was also a collection of supplies, where we managed to collect two full boxes of non-perishable food and hygiene items. We decided to donate this collection to our friends from Belianska kaviareň, who are looking after more than 50 people from Ukraine in Huncovce and Veľká Lomnica. The collection was received by Bohuš Bohunický, a representative of Belianska kaviareň.

Thank you all. Everyone who came to spend a beautiful spring day with us, all the sponsors who supported the preparations, everyone who contributed money or supplies and so helped those who have been through so much, and last but not least everyone who put into preparing this event not only their free time but above all their heart. You could feel it there.

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you again!