Who are we
History of the
DANUBE ANTI-POVERTY FOUNDATION
History of the
DANUBE ANTI-POVERTY FOUNDATION
DANUBE ANTI-POVERTY SOCIETY FOUNDATION is a charitable Organization dedicated to assisting the elderly citizens of the Town of Szederkény with low-income and in need of financial support, a helping hand and a listing ear to upgrade their comfort, health and wellbeing for their remaining years.
DSZET (for short), is a non-governmental Charity registered with the Metropolitan Court of Hungary on February 7, 2019.
Putting in place a Foundation for this purpose, was a provision stipulated in the Late PETZ JÁNOS (JOHN PETZ)’s Last Will and Testament who was a native of Szederkény and who’s life pathway led him to Canada as a young man where he spent the rest of his life yet never forgot his home town’s loved ones.
This allegiance and loyalty to his cherished town’s aging folks led him to take this generous decision.
Late Petz János was born on the 7th of July, 1927 in the small rural Town of Szederkény in southern Hungary. At the age of thirteen, with the end of WW II, János fled the country as thousands of other Hungarians did and landed in Austria spending a few months there in a refugee camp, after which he continued the course of his exile to Germany where he was lodged again in another refugee camp with other displaced persons of similar fates.
János followed his dream and after his application was granted as Canadian Immigrant, he left old Europe on a steamship and was welcomed to Canada in the early 1950’s as a young man full of ambitions. János chose to establish his residency in western Canada more particularly in the Greater Vancouver area. From then on, he was known as John which is the English translation of János.
János was a self-taught man all through his life with a book in hand at every spare moment. He was an ardent worker and oriented his earnings towards sound profitable real estate investments and property management which were the basis for creating and establishing his financial wealth and assets.
John maintained close contact with his relatives and friends of "his home town" ALL his lifetime.
Thanks to his hard work and sound investments, John was able to lead a financially successful life. His innate generosity and attachment to his home town, inspired him to help Szederkény’s needy and disadvantaged Senior citizens, which he had left at such a young age, after his passing. This is why in his Last Will and Testament John bequeathed a part of the assets of his estate for this purpose to a Hungarian Charitable Foundation. János (John) Petz passed away at the age of 91, on August 13th, 2018.
The village of Szederkény is located in a valley on the right and left banks of the Karasica stream between Pécs and Mohács, along the main road No. 57 in Baranya county.
The village dates back more than 745 years. The document mentions Push's bridge to Szederkény, which crossed the stream Caraş or Karasica (now Karasica). It is probable that the settlement may have been established in the middle of the 13th century after the Tartar invasion. Until the 15th century it was owned by the Óvár family, in the 16th century by Bálint Török, and in the 17th century by Ádám Zrínyi. At the beginning of the 18th century, after the settlement of the estate, Szederkény moved to the abbey of Pécsvárad. According to old records, he was named Zederkyn and Namja, later Szederkény and Push. The two settlements mentioned in the II. after World War II it was united in 1948 as Szederkény.
Szederkény on the map
Szent-Lőrinc temple
Szederkény from a bird's eye view
After having established the administrative structures of the Charity, its first major donation/distribution activities took place on the week of the fourteenth of December, 2020.
The Board of Directors of DSZET:
FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: LUYDMILA MEYERS, CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: MARIA ERZSÉBET SZABÓ
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: DR. GYÖRGY LÁSZLÓ SZABÓ
Szederkény Town’s Mayor, deputy Mayor, Town Clerk and social worker’s assistance
The Foundation’s executive directors would like to express their gratitude to the Municipality’s administrative body for giving the Charity a helping hand in distributing the gift donations to the underprivileged Seniors of the Town. More particularly to the Deputy-Mayor Ms. Renata Ulbert, Chief Clerk Dr. Tamás Szlávecz and last but not least to Ms. Magdi Rott Ottóné who organized the logistics and assisted in the distribution of the food packages.
A very special thank to the Manager of the CBA grocery store, Mr. Zoltán Czigler and his team for preparing and helping distributing the gift packages free of charge.
Without the cooperation and assistance of the above-mentioned officers, it would have been very difficult to complete this mission.
The executive body of the Foundation would like to extend its thanks to the former Mayor of Szederkény, Mr. János Hergenrőder who in the name of the Town’s administration body, executed a Cooperation Agreement with the Danube Anti-Poverty Society Foundation in 2019.
STRUCTURING DANUBE ANTI-POVERTY SOCIETY FOUNDATION
Following the registration of the Foundation, on the 7th of February of 2019, the Directors’ of DSZET established contact with the executive body of the Township of Szederkény, birthplace of the Late Petz János (John) to make known to them, the Charity and its objectives. Following this, a very positive meeting took place and resulted in the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between Danube Anti-Poverty Society Foundation and Mayor of the Township of Szederkény.
Ms. Rott Ottoné (referred to as Magdi) part of the town’s administrative team, also a social worker by profession, offered to locally represent the Charity. An office space in the Town Hall building was generously put to the disposal to the Foundation where Magdi could meet the future beneficiaries for the purpose of assessing their specific needs.
During their visit to Szederkény, the Directors acquainted themselves with the towns infrastructures and distribute urgent financial assistance to a few needy seniors who were referred to them by the Town’s Mayor.
The Foundation’s charitable activities had to be temporarily suspended while the financial structures of DSZET were put in place allowing it to be operational.
The Town’s Herald and the local newspaper published an article on Danube Anti-Poverty Society Foundation and its mission which is to assist the needy seniors of Szederkény who now had the possibility to reach out for help.
The municipality’s website also posted an article on the newly registered Foundation, how it came about and what its objectives were.
With the help of DSZET’s local representative Magdi, the town’s needy seniors were identified according to the Foundation’s objectives in compliance with the Late John Petz’s Last Will and Testament.
Information was gathered as to the needs of the newly identified seniors which were mainly centered around foodstuffs, medication, sanitary products, firewood, household appliances and minor repairs within their dwellings.
The apport of the Charity led us to late Fall 2020 when DSZET was in a financial position to start actively distributing donations to the identified beneficiaries of the Foundation.
DSZET’s first major charitable activity was to organize and to distribute Christmas food basket full of goodies to each of the Beneficiaries. The baskets were delivered personally to each senior a few days prior to the Christmas holidays. Tears of joy were shed at the sight of such kindness allowing plenty of healthy food to ornated the needy seniors’ dining room tables for the Holiday season.
With the surge of the Covid-19 virus in the first months of 2021, the beneficiaries received C and D vitamins in order to enhance their immune system against this infectious disease.
It was made part of the yearly agenda, that the Directors along with Magdi, the Charity’s local representative, visit each senior to congratulate them on their birthday and present them with a cash gift placed in a birthday greeting card. Remembering the beneficiaries on their Birthday is a special moment for them, giving them the opportunity to share with the Charity’s directors their everyday joys and sorrows and also making known their specific needs. Such personal contact is heartwarming and quality time for these seniors who are more often than not on their own.
Through 2021 the beneficiaries were donated medication, physiotherapy treatments, sanitary products, food and household equipment as needed by each beneficiary.
Lovely food baskets full of Easter goodies to ornate the feisty tables of the needy seniors were distributed in the month of March 2021 for Easter.
Once again, in December of 2021, the beneficiaries were donated lovely Christmas food packages filled with healthy foods and Christmas sweets.
The Foundation continuously monitors the needs of the elderly residents of Szederkény and assisting new beneficiaries in need of help.
THIS IS OUR MISSION
In accordance with the Last Will and Testament of late Petz János and the Foundation’s mission, which is to provide financial assistance and also in kind, to the poor and elderly citizens of Szederkény in order to improve their quality of life, we invite the above-mentioned town’s elderly and disadvantaged citizens to contact our organisation via email at charity@danubecharity.hu or at the above-mentioned phone number. We are here to help you.
DANUBE ANTI-POVERTY SOCIETY FOUNDATION is open to accepting donations, whether in cash or in kind. Those wishing to donate to this most worthy cause, are kindly invited to contact the Executive Directors via email or by telephone communication.
OUR CHARITY reaches out to all Professionals, Entrepreneurs, Business people, ladies and gentlemen of good will, wherever domiciled in our global village, to help financially support or otherwise benefit, the underprivileged seniors in need of the Township of Szederkény, Hungary.
Danube Anti-Poverty Society Foundation’s mission is indeed, to assist the poor and disadvantaged elderly townsfolks to upgrade their quality of life for their remaining years and to care for them in the most beneficial manner such as providing medication, vitamins, food and other essential financial support in their everyday lives.
We can assure you, that your noble contribution will certainly bring warmth in the heart of our 62 Seniors, mostly widowed elderly ladies who are on our list of beneficiaries.
We have listened with compassion to these poor elderly ladies’ and gentlemen’s trials and tribulations and the smallest gesture of kindness always brings tears of gratitude in their eyes.
Your donation will be most helpful in accomplishing our Charity’s mission.
You may wire your contribution to the Budapest Bank, 1138 Budapest, Váci ut 193, Hungary: 10101353-26260000-01005008
DANUBE ANTI-POVERTY FOUNDATION
Phone: +36 70 389 7929 Contribution bank account number: Budapest Bank Zrt. 10101353-26260000-01005008
Address: 1092 Budapest, Ráday utca 20. 1. 10/A. IBAN: Budapest Bank Zrt. HU 30-10101353-26260000-01005008
E-mail: charity@danubecharity.hu Swift code: BUDAHUHB Adószám: 19110372-1-43 Nyilvántartási szám: 01-01-0012736
+36 70 389 7929
charity@danubecharity.hu
1092 Budapest, Ráday utca 20. 1. 10/A.
9:00 - 17:00
19110372-1-43
01-01-0012736
Phone: +36 70 389 7929
Address: 1092 Budapest, Ráday utca 20. 1. 10/A. Tax number: 19110372-1-43
E-mail: charity@danubecharity.hu Registration number: 01-01-0012736