Last week, we received the following report:
They raised 3.8 thousand for Tosia while destroying the forest in Krępnica. The matter was reported to the Forest District and the Forest Guard. The fines will amount to approximately PLN 7,000–10,000. [...]
We asked the Bolesławiec Forest Guard for comment. Commander Rafał Kołodziej:
In response to the [...] questions, I inform you that it is true that several off-road vehicles belonging to the organizers of the “For Tosia” fundraiser entered the state forest.
On 24 January 2020, a meeting was held at the Forest Guard Station in Bolesławiec with representatives of this association. As a result of the discussions, we established that the organizers of the fundraiser had driven their vehicles that day on public roads and private land (with the consent of the owners), while the approximately 200-meter entry into the state forest had occurred by mistake—with no awareness that the forest they had entered was administered by the Bolesławiec Forest District.
The commander adds:
All minor damage to the forest road was repaired on 25 January 2020, and the road was restored to its previous condition.
And emphasizes:
We appreciate every act of charity and every stirring of the heart that motivates people in campaigns such as this one for Tosia, and in cases like this we try to properly balance the relevant values: the purpose of the association’s undertaking and concern for our common good, which is the forest. In such exceptional situations, punitive measures—or educational measures—must also be selected with particular care, which is what we are doing in this case. However, I will not reveal what those measures are.
Statement from the participants in the “We’ll Mix It with Mud for SMA” charity event
As fans of off-road driving, we once again joined an initiative to help others. Deeply moved by the illness that affected a tiny four-month-old girl, this time we decided to help Tosia and her parents. The unimaginable amount that must be raised for the child to live is PLN 9 million. Time is running out, as treatment must begin before she reaches the age of two. Tosia is growing weaker; her muscles are beginning to fail, including the most important ones—the heart and lungs. There are nine such children in Poland.
Driven by compassion, we put up for auction a ride for Tosia through the wilderness, ending with a campfire. In this way, we raised a total of PLN 4,000, which was added to Tosia’s account.
https://www.siepomaga.pl/tosia
It might seem like little, but more than 100,000 people across Poland have already helped. Unfortunately, amid all the euphoria associated with helping, we forgot about people devoid of any scruples—people without hearts or moral backbone, people who take every opportunity to undermine even such noble initiatives.
We made an unintentional mistake resulting from our lack of knowledge (we did not have an accurate map) and entered a road that crossed the boundary of the State Forests by 200 meters. A person associated with our community reported us to the Forest Guard, claiming that we had caused spectacular destruction. Following the explanations we provided to the Forest Guard commander, we were required to repair the damage, which we did immediately. With the help of rakes, removing the damage took us half an hour. We sincerely apologize for the unintentional damage to a short, approximately 20-meter section of forest road.
The excursion route generally followed publicly accessible dirt roads and gravel tracks used by local residents, anglers, hunters, farmers, and anyone who felt up to it.
As people who often get involved in helping others, charity campaigns, and community activities, we express our deep outrage at reports of this kind, intended to discredit our community in the eyes of public opinion. We are disgusted by the attitude of people who, in the face of such a great tragedy, cannot spare a moment for reflection or consider the tragedy of this family from Oleśnica, but instead exploit someone’s misfortune to pursue their own particular interests. We are repulsed by such an attitude and have decided to repeat the auction for a ride in our off-road vehicles, with the proceeds once again going to Tosia’s account.
The team adds:
We encourage you to take part in the auctions—“We’ll Mix It with Mud for SMA” once again!!! We paradoxically thank the esteemed informant, because they enabled us to reach another group of people with information about little Tosia. At the same time, we encourage them to direct their efforts toward the right channels. Or perhaps they would like to reveal their identity?
It is worth adding that the word Tosia arranged with cars (the header photo) was an initiative of... Bolesławiec 4x4 Team. Other photos of this kind refer precisely to the Bolesławiec one. (More at: Tosia Wiśniewska is fighting for her life).
What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.