HESTIA, National Volunteering Center
The main mission of HESTIA is to promote volunteering and volunteer programs for endangered children and youth in the Czech Republic. To this end, the organization runs a number of projects designed to develop and support volunteer programs around the country. HESTIA, which has been operating since 1993, also works with other nonprofits to promote volunteering among the general public and public institutions.
In addition, HESTIA runs its own volunteer programs. One of the oldest and the most popular is Five P, which matches adult mentors with children and young people at risk. The project was inspired by the long-running and highly successful U.S. program Big Brothers Big Sisters.
In the spring of 2011, HESTIA received 12 Microsoft Office 2010 Standard licenses from TechSoup Česká Republika, TechSoup's global partner in the Czech Republic. The new software has helped the staff work more efficiently. The new version of Outlook has been especially helpful because it has allowed better cooperation with the organization's email client, enabling the use of shared calendars and other features. In addition to helping with day-to-day administrative work, the new software allows for better cooperation among staff members and with outside partners.
