Compared to last year, there was no change in the willingness to donate to charity. According to a national survey by Yettel[1], 77% of Hungarians have been involved in some form of charity during the year, four out of ten have donated and volunteered, and half as many plan to do so at Christmas, while a third of respondents do not yet know whether they will. This is the fourth time that the mobile operator has surveyed Hungarians’ Christmas contact and shopping habits, and this year again the survey included charitable giving.
The number of people who donate goods has decreased by a few percents compared to last year, but two-thirds of Hungarians still choose this form of charity, giving clothes, shoes and school supplies to those in need. At the same time, the number of people who donate money on a regular basis has increased slightly compared to last year, as has the amount of money donated. While 26% of respondents donated more than HUF 10,000 last year, 33% of them donated more than HUF 10,000 this year. Just over two-thirds of donors give less than HUF 5,000 per donation. Even the smallest donation helps: small, so-called micro-donations can be made from a mobile phone by calling the premium-rate donation line of the designated organisation or by sending an SMS – in the case of KézenFogva Foundation, to 13600/13.
Animal shelters were the top beneficiaries this year, but many respondents are also considering helping children in care, people living in extreme poverty, and people with cancer or other illnesses. Only 11% plan to help people with disabilities this year, down from 13% last year and 16% the year before.
“In Hungary, one in twenty people – almost half a million people – live with a disability. The barriers presented by disability are difficult, but not insurmountable. For 30 years, we have been working to create an inclusive society where people with disabilities can live their daily lives with dignity alongside their fellow citizens. We want the Foundation’s clients to be able to live a life like any of us and to experience that they do not only need support, but that they can also help others,” said Ákos Pordán, Managing Director of KézenFogva Foundation.
In this spirit, as part of KézenFogva Foundation’s own Christmas charity campaign, their clients – the disabled people they support–, staff and volunteers collected food donations and made sandwiches for the homeless. In recognition of their work, they were invited to a surprise concert by the Octovoice Singing Ensemble, whose members also featured in Yettel’s Christmas commercial about the power of surprise. The operator will support the Foundation with a donation of more than HUF 2 million this Christmas, which will be used to provide mental health support for families with disabled children in the form of counselling, parenting groups, couple and family therapy.
“We consider the representation of people with disabilities to be a very important issue at Yettel. This is why we have teamed up with the KézenFogva Foundation again this year to raise awareness of the fact that people with disabilities are also full members of society, capable of doing something for others. We are happy to support the Foundation’s efforts”, added Attila Mészáros, Yettel’s Corporate Communications Director.
Click here to watch a video about the charity’s fundraiser and surprise concert: https://youtu.be/-GXdofgFfeY
[1] The survey was conducted on a sample of 1,000 people between 18 and 25 October 2023. The sample is representative of the Hungarian population aged 18-69 by gender, age, region and type of settlement. (Impetus research)