FRIENDS OF VIA
Is a 501 (c) 3 organization in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which supports Via Foundation, an independent Czech foundation that is committed to community and philanthropy development in the Czech Republic. Friends of Via gives American donors an easy tax-deductible way to donate to Via Foundation and other Czech non-profit organizations.
Friends of Via supports Via Foundation in “Building the Future, One Community at a Time.”
For over 25 years, Via Foundation has been supporting people and organizations which are changing Czech communities. Each year Via Foundation provides grants, mentoring and learning opportunities to hundreds of citizen groups across the Czech Republic.
To make a donation to Via Foundation, please click here.
RECENT NEWS
- Inspired by Via’s Young Philanthropists program, the children of the Czech and Slovak School of Pittsburgh made get well cards for children recovering from illnesses at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital. Read more here.
- Via Foundation’s recent ‘Philanthropy and Cooperation’ discussion event featured the new US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Bijan Sabet. Read more here.
- With support from Via Foundation, Czech citizens are transforming public spaces into community gathering places. We invite you to read about residents build a forest sauna in the town of Kunštát near Brno, and how townspeople improved an outlook on Heřmanský Hill in Moravské Budějovice.
- Join Via director Zdenek Mihalco on a tour of engaged citizens he met around the Czech Republic .
- From 2020 to 2022, Via’s program Don’t Be Afraid of Local Politics guided 48 community leaders who took their civic engagement to the next level by considering running for local office. 38 of them were candidates in the September 2022 municipal elections. Read how they fared here.
- Via’s Welcome Ukraine program is supporting community groups integrating Ukrainian newcomers into Czech communities. Read our latest update here.
- Via celebrated its 25th anniversary in September 2022. Read an interview with current Via director Zdenek Mihalco and former director Jiri Barta about Via’s past, present and future.
- After a tornado struck South Moravia in 2021, Via was one of the first to set up a charity collection and donors gave over $10.5 million, which Via distributed to households, municipalities, and community groups for reconstruction and revitalization. Read more here.
- Via Foundation’s Young Philanthropists program enables children and young people to try out philanthropy firsthand. During the pandemic they had to think of creative ways to put on charity events and community engagement projects; read more here.
- Cesky a Slovensky Svet, the Pittsburgh Czech and Slovak Language School for children, organizes Czech language immersion camps for children. This link to photos shows 40 children and 30 parents and other volunteers enjoying a variety of camping activities. You can just imagine the sound of the Czech language filling the woodlands of western Pennsylvania!
- Engaging Youth in Czech Culture and Philanthropy, an article by FoV Board President Carol Hochman, sheds light on the history of volunteerism in Bohemia and Moravia.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST!