Nearly 7,000 volunteers to improve towns and cities across Slovakia

Schools, shelters, nonprofits and community organisations will receive help during the 20th edition of Naše Mesto on Friday, June 5.

For one day, office routines will give way to paintbrushes, rakes and helping hands. Nearly 7,000 people across Slovakia will join the 20th edition of Naše Mesto (Our City) on Friday, June 5, improving schools, shelters, parks and cultural sites in what has become the largest corporate volunteering event in central Europe.

Naše Mesto is the largest corporate volunteering event in central Europe. It started in 2007 as Naša Bratislava (Our Bratislava) and gradually expanded across Slovakia. Over the past two decades, companies and institutions have sent more than 135,000 people to volunteer through Naše Mesto, contributing almost 0.5 million volunteer hours.

Organised by the Pontis Foundation, Naše Mesto has been connecting companies, municipalities and the civic sector for two decades. Its aim is to improve life in communities across Slovakia, but the organisers say volunteering is not only about helping organisations or making towns and villages more attractive. It is also a way to bring people from different backgrounds together, build trust and empathy, and strengthen social cohesion.