6th Volunteer Gala 2025 "Driving Action"

On 5 December 2025, volunteers, community leaders, and organizations from the region gathered at the Municipal Cultural Center in Nowa Dęba. The 6th Volunteer Gala was a special event: a space for conversation, inspiration, emotion, and gratitude for people whose everyday activity builds the strength of small communities.

An important part of the event was a recorded greeting from Adriana Porowska, Secretary of State, Deputy Chair of the Public Benefit Committee, and initiator of the nationwide Power of Small Communities program. We talked about local initiatives that are making a real difference in their surroundings.

Panel: Power of Small Communities

The panel on ideas delivered through the Power of Small Communities program featured:

• Alicja Zych, President of Stowarzyszenie Anielskie Grajki, village head of Jadachy, and coordinator of the OdNowa w Dźwięku project, a development, integration, and prevention studio for young people
• Katarzyna Mocek and Wojciech Gołąbek, who together with Dorota Spelak formed the informal group behind the Aktywni Razem Nowa Dęba project
• Representatives of Stowarzyszenie Kobiet “Rogowianki” - KGW Rogów from the Lubelskie region, who spoke about taking part in the Local Community Ready for Crisis training
• Stanisław Rawski from OSP Tarnowska Wola, who together with fellow firefighters organized drone training
• A presentation of the activities of Stowarzyszenie Nasze Kołodzieje

Panel: International volunteering in times of crisis

The second panel, organized with the support of RODM Podkarpacie, focused on international volunteering in times of crisis. It was moderated by Dariusz Bobak from Fundacja Humanitarna Folkowisko. The speakers were:

• Ewelina Bosak from Fundacja W Stronę Dialogu
• Magdalena Pardel-Trefler from Fundacja Wymiany Kulturowej toTU toTAM
• Marcin Kurnik, President of Fundacja Q

“Driving Action” awards

An important part of the gala was the presentation of the Driving Action awards. We proudly congratulate this year’s honorees:

• Barbara and Ryszard Janczyk
• Zofia Sudoł, President of Stowarzyszenie Poręba in Nowa Dęba, educator at School Complex No. 2 named after Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski in Nowa Dęba, and head of the 2025 Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity volunteer team
• The informal group Aktywni Razem Nowa Dęba: Katarzyna Mocek, Wojciech Gołąbek, Dorota Spelak
• Rifle Unit 2043 in Nowa Dęba

Their work is the best proof that local civic activity has tremendous power.

Accessibility and music

A special element of the event was the presence of Centrum CREO from Poznań and the Mobile Accessibility Center, which allowed participants to experience accessibility challenges in a very practical way.

Special thanks for the musical setting go to Schola Anielskie Grajki from Jadachy and to Claudia Kopeć-Kaczmarska. Your songs created a unique atmosphere and brought heart, talent, and energy to the gala stage.

We also thank all guests, speakers, volunteers, partners, and participants for being with us, for the conversations, and for the time we spent together.

Gallery and media coverage

If you would like to return to the emotions of the gala, take a look at our photo gallery and media coverage:

• 6th Volunteer Gala photo album
• Polskie Radio Rzeszów
• Tygodnik Nadwiślański
• YouTube video 1
• YouTube video 2
• YouTube video 3

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