Working at sheltered workshops helps and encourages disabled clients

• Sheltered workshops in Nová Paka are open to disabled people from the entire region
• Their clients make high-quality original products from natural materials
• The T-Mobile Fund has granted CZK 80,000 for the operation and development of the workshops at the Vyšehrad Center

Prague, 12 March 2009 - The sheltered workshop at the Vyšehrad Center in Nová Paka was opened in 2005, when it employed five disabled people. Today it employs thirty people with different kinds of physical and mental disabilities. Out of the total amount of CZK 2 million provided to the entire region of Hradec Králové in the fourth year of T-Mobile's grant program, the workshop was granted CZK 80,000 for its operation and development.

"Sheltered workshops offer disabled people the possibility of rehabilitation, earnings and self-realization. Working there gives them a great deal of help and encouragement. However, the workshops could not operate without subsidies and donations. Therefore, the T-Mobile Fund decided to support the Vyšehrad Center and fund the operation of its workshops," says Martina Kemrová, Senior Head of Corporate Communication at T‑Mobile.

The workshops were built in a former kindergarten rented to the Life without Barriers civic association, which renovated the building and called it the Vyšehrad Center. "We have ceramic and weaving workshops employing approximately seventeen people each day," says Jitka Fučíková, director of the center and coordinator of grants and donations. "Our clients mostly work with handmade paper, potter's clay, herbs and yarn. From these materials, they make decorative ceramic products, baskets, pillows, carpets, greeting cards and small gifts." The products are sold at markets and fairs and during charitable and cultural events. The Life without Barriers association also sells its products to three shops. "There is great demand for our products thanks to their originality and indisputable quality," adds Jitka Fučíková.

The employees' wages and the operation of the workshop are partially funded by the labor office. The Life without Barriers association is also supported by a number of donors and sponsors. The T-Mobile Fund has supported the workshops at the Vyšehrad Center with contributions totaling CZK 80,000. The association is considering expansion of the workshops if it receives subsidies from the EU funds. 

Some of the employees of the workshops come from places that are several kilometers from the center. "They do not only come for work; we also prepare all kinds of cultural and leisure events for our clients," says Jitka Fučíková. "We attend theatres and concerts, go for trips, play sports. We are trying to make these activities a natural part of our disabled employees' lives."

Funding allocated for the Hradec Králové region is managed by the VIA Foundation, which selected 36 projects out of 118 applications this year and distributed CZK 2 million among them.

More information: Jitka Fučíková,, e-mail: jitka.fucikova@zbb.cz, tel.: 493 724 159, web: www.zbb.cz

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.