For the third time, “Noble Gift Package” volunteers reached families from Bolesławiec County who had found themselves in a difficult financial situation through no fault of their own. After meeting with a family and learning about its situation and needs, they had to assess whether it met the strict “package” criteria. The volunteers’ task also included creating a concise description presenting the family, which was then published in the nationwide family database on the website www.szlachetnapaczka.pl.
This year, 23 volunteers, led by Agnieszka Baszczyj, the area leader, visited more than 60 families and ultimately included half of them in the project. At noon on Sunday, November 20, volunteers and people supporting the initiative marched through the city center streets to celebrate the opening of the database.
What is Noble Gift Package?
Noble Gift Package is a project with a history spanning more than 15 years. It began with the Community of Open Individualities—a ministry run by the then curate of the parish in Prokocim Nowy, Rev. Jacek Stryczek. Seventeen years ago, together with young people, he decided to help residents of one of Kraków’s poorest housing estates. Today, Noble Gift Package has a nationwide reach and continues to grow. Last year alone, the project united more than one million Poles, providing concrete assistance worth over PLN 53 million to 20,771 families in need, including 26 from Bolesławiec and the surrounding area.
How do you prepare a package?
Eighteen families from our county have already found donors. “You can become one too!” say the Bolesławiec volunteers. “All you have to do is visit www.szlachetnapaczka.pl, click the ‘I choose a family’ tab, and then select the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and the Bolesławiec warehouse from the list. You will read the family descriptions and choose the one you want to help.”
They add: “Invite your friends—it is easier together to prepare a package that will provide real help and inspire change. Then prepare the package according to the list of the family members’ needs and dreams. A volunteer—the family’s coordinator—will guide you in preparing the assistance. The completed package should be delivered on December 10–11 to the Bolesławiec warehouse. From there, a volunteer will deliver it to the family and give you an extraordinary gift: an account of the package’s delivery.