Debrecen4U August 17, 2025

School Supply Collection with Student Participation – For Students

On August 14, 2025, at the opening event of the school supply collection campaign, organized by the Municipality of Debrecen and the Debrecen Charity Board, first-year students from the University of Theatre and Film Arts donated school supplies to children participating in the city’s summer childcare program.

The University of Theatre and Film Arts has held its summer academy in Debrecen every August for the past five years. 

During their stay, students have consistently engaged in community activities that connect them to the city’s cultural life. Over the years, the university has made it a mission to introduce young people to Debrecen’s cultural values. They’ve regularly visited landmarks such as the Reformed Great Church, the Déri Museum, and the Reformed College. 

This year, the students joined the city’s cultural life through a charitable school supply drive. They personally handed out 20 gift packages to children present at the event and participating in the summer childcare program, and collectively presented a basketful of supplies. The students also performed poems and songs, and concluded the event with an impromptu dance session for the children.

Deputy Mayor Diána Széles, co-chair of the Debrecen Charity Board, emphasized that the city’s summer childcare program is akin to a free, experience-rich summer camp. This is especially important for families who cannot afford costly camps. Many children spend the full six weeks in the program, making it essential to offer engaging activities and opportunities to meet others and gain new experiences. That’s why the students’ heartfelt performances and dance session were so meaningful.

The deputy mayor noted that the 10-year-old Debrecen Charity Board organizes school supply collections annually to support families in need. It’s significant that young students from the University of Theatre and Film Arts are now supporting this cause. She highlighted that the municipality continues to offer back-to-school financial aid to those in need, with applications still being accepted at the New City Hall’s social department. The Debrecen Charity Board ensures that even those who don’t meet the formal criteria but are clearly in need can receive help—this is one of the goals of the supply collection.

Aurélia Ibolya Orosz, head of Debrecen’s Family and Child Welfare Center, shared that 265 children registered for the summer childcare program this year, and 255 participated. She expressed joy that Debrecen can offer such support, noting that it’s rare in Hungary for a municipality to provide childcare for nearly the entire summer break. She thanked the university students for setting an example for their peers, showing how much can be achieved through unity and love. Helping others is challenging, but those who do it receive much in return—grateful glances, smiles, kind words, and hugs. “When we help each other, we all become a little happier,” she said.

István Oláh, Pastor of the Debrecen Great Church Reformed Congregation, spoke about how communities form around either interests or values. In the Memorial Garden behind the Great Church, symbols of all the values on which Debrecen is built can be found. The Reformation monument reminds us to pause and reflect on whether our lives are heading in the right direction—and if change is needed, Scripture offers guidance. The statue of István Bocskai highlights individual responsibility toward the community in times of historical significance. The monument to the galley slaves commemorates Reformed pastors who, in the late 17th century, refused to renounce their faith and were imprisoned. All three monuments embody love, which, for believers, is manifested in Jesus Christ. Debrecen’s value-based community—symbolized even by a basket of school supplies—is a solid foundation for its citizens. Oláh also mentioned that a heart-shaped loaf of bread, symbolizing love, was shared among attendees, because love only has meaning when it’s shared.

Edit Bódor, President of the Debrecen Charity Board, expressed gratitude that children in the summer childcare program could also participate in cultural events thanks to the committee’s support. For example, they regularly toured the Reformed Great Church tower, and members of the committee’s organizations held dance and craft workshops for them. Today’s event aimed to introduce children to the joy of doing good from a young age. It’s especially heartening that young artists are receptive to this idea and can serve as role models.

She highlighted that the Board welcomes donations of new or used school supplies for children in need at the collection point located in the Karakter 1517 bookstore and café, situated behind the church in the Memorial Garden.

The students of the University of Theatre and Film Arts also wrote and signed messages for the people of Debrecen. These messages will be displayed on the fence of the Memorial Garden—transformed into the Garden of Love during the Debrecen Flower Carnival—alongside drawings made by children in the summer childcare program.

The August 14 kickoff event also promoted the opening of an exhibition on Saturday, August 16, organized by the Debrecen Charity Board in the Memorial Garden. Decorations created by members and staff of various organizations—whose numbers continue to grow—will be displayed on the garden’s fence, encircling the Garden of Love.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu