Become our partner

Foreigners in Poland struggle with learning the language and understanding how the authorities, schools and the health care system work. They often do not know all their rights and fall victim to dishonest employers. They have problems renting a room or a flat. Some people do not have access to social security. Due to the lack of appropriate integration support in schools, children are at risk of dropping out. 

We are responding to these problems with the following long-term activities and programs:
(data for 2023)

Help Center for Foreigners 12,413 mentoring consultations	Housing support 84 people took part in Welcome home and Refugees Welcome programs
Polish language courses for adults 2424 people took part in courses in Warsaw, Lodz, Lomza	Magazin (material aid) 4709 people received in-kind assistance, including 2008 children
Support for children and youth 117 students participated in the tutoring program	Psychological assistance 1368 hours of psychological and psychotherapeutic consultations were conducted

In addition to our long-term activities, we also carry out crisis intervention activities:

Since August 2021, we have been present in the Polish-Belarusian border region, where we monitor the situation, provide humanitarian and legal assistance to refugees, publicize the issue, and lobby for an end to this humanitarian crisis. We also have a strong focus on advocacy efforts aimed at ending pushbacks at the border. In 2023, the Foundation’s volunteers intervened 100 times, and provided direct assistance to 368 people (including at least 34 women and 15 children and minors).

After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we launched numerous intervention activities: temporary accommodation at the reception point of Biennale Warsaw and in one of Warsaw’s hotels, friendly spaces at reception points on the border and in accommodation centers, integration day care centers for children from Ukraine. Observing changing needs, we gradually reduced intervention activities in favor of long-term integration work. In 2023, from January to August, there were 19 educational points at long-term accommodation centers and 1 child-friendly space at an educational point. A total of 5,465 children benefited from the points and the safe space, and 467 of them participated in Polish language classes. In 2023, there were 4 inclusive day care centers in Warsaw.

• a substantive summary of the activities of the Ocalenie Foundation in 2020>>>
• financial report for 2019 (in Polish) >>>

We accept:

• general donations intended to support our statutory activities,
• targeted donations, intended to support activities selected by the donor.

The Ocalenie Foundation has the status of a public benefit organization, which means that donations are tax deductible.

We accept:

• general donations intended to support our statutory activities,
• targeted donations, intended to support activities selected by the donor.

The Ocalenie Foundation has the status of a public benefit organization, which means that donations are tax deductible.

We are open to consider new cooperation initiatives, implementing our business partners’ CSR goals as long as they are consistent with the mission and scope of the Foundation’s activities.

Due to the costs of administration and coordination, we only launch new joint projects if the donation amount exceeds  EUR 30,000.

We accept in-kind donations which support our clients (e.g. electronic and household appliances, furniture, laptops, telephones, domestic detergents, cosmetics, diapers, sanitary napkins, new underwear, bed linen and towels) or help upgrade Foundation’s equipment (e.g. laptops, computers, office supplies).

If you wish to make an in-kind donation, please contact us before you start preparing it. It will give us a chance to confirm whether we are able to accept it, considering our limited space. 

We encourage employees of companies to organize workplace fundraisers or charity collections as well as special events such as auctions, fairs or contests.

We offer:

• organizational and communications support,
• preparation and delivery of promotional materials,
• preparation of a summary and thank-you notes for all involved employees.

We are registered on the Benevity platform, which allows financial donations from employees participating in the matching gift program to be matched by their employer.

Workshops and trainings are carried out by Ocalenie spółka z o. o. which was established in June 2023 as a response to the need to expand the activities of the Ocalenie Foundation by commercial services. Providing an additional source of funding, the company supports the Ocalenie Foundation in its statutory activities. In its activities, the company relies on the experience and expertise of Ocalenie Foundation’s employees.

We offer specialist workshops and trainings:

Format and duration: webinar (2h) or in-person (4h)

Possible scope of a 2-hour webinar:

1. Sensitive and inclusive language - why is it important when we speak or write about refugees and migration? 
2. How not to fall into traps when creating content about people with refugee experience? (Misinformation/disinformation, excessive academicism, risk of condescending talk about individuals and dehumanizing them) 
3. What words, phrases and wording should one use to respectfully speak and write about migration? 
4. Where to get reliable information from?

Format and duration: webinar (2h) or in-person (4h)

Sample topic coverage for a 4-hour in-person workshop: 

1. What are the most important steps to take if you want to hire refugees? 
2. What are the basic obligations of an employer who hires a foreign person and entrusts them to perform work?
3. How to employ a foreigner or how to delegate them to perform work temporarily in Poland?
4. What are the terms and conditions of hiring a foreign person on an employment contract and a civil contract? 
5. What are the benefits and risks for employers of hiring people with refugee experience?

Due to large differences between specific employers, we prepare legal workshops on an individualized basis - they should be ordered at least 2 months in advance.

We also organize networking and team building activities, such as:

Format: in-person, Warsaw and surroundings areas

Duration: 4 hours

Number of participants: 15-20

The offer is addressed to companies that are looking for interesting forms of integration workshops for their teams. The participants will get acquainted with the selected national cuisine and will prepare typical dishes together.

We offer workshops on Georgian, Syrian, Tajik, Vietnamese or Ukrainian cuisine. The workshop is devoted to traditions and cuisines other than Polish, so it can be an inspiration for those participating to introduce new culinary customs in their homes.

The trainer is a person from a particular country, familiar with its culinary customs and traditional cuisine. As part of the introduction, they talk about the culinary customs in their country, and then prepare some traditional dishes together with the participants. The workshop ends with a tasting of the dishes.

Format: in-person, Warsaw and surroundings areas

Duration: 2 hours

Number of participants: 15-20

Yoga workshops are an option for companies that would like to provide their employees with an opportunity to relax and calm down.

During the workshop, the instructor will perform various poses (asanas) together with participants, combining calm stretching and strengthening exercises with elements of meditation. They will also demonstrate relaxation techniques for better stress management. Participants will be able to quiet the rush of thoughts, calm their minds and relax their bodies, taking a break from daily responsibilities for a while.

Our workshops and trainings can be:

• in Polish, English or Russian,
• online or in-person

We can also prepare educational materials, such as presentations, brochures and quizzes.

We welcome volunteers supporting two areas of our activities:

• teaching adults the Polish language;
• helping children in studying.

Both forms of volunteering:

• are of a long-term nature,
• take place in Warsaw, generally in a stationary form (during the pandemic, Polish courses are held online),
• require a minimum commitment of 2-4 hours a week,
• are preceded by a training organized by the Foundation.

You can apply for volunteering:

• individually, during open recruitments (see: current volunteering offers>>>)
• or in an organized manner, by a group of employees. For such a group, we can organize additional training, financed by the employer. 

Cooperation with Ocalenie Foundation means cooperation with the organization that is:

• recognizable – one of the largest in Poland in the area of ​​supporting refugees and migrants, active in social and traditional media, participating in the public debate;
• expressive – clearly and unambiguously standing up for human rights, equality and dignity and against discrimination;
• diverse – employing people from minority groups and exposed to discrimination: refugees, migrants, women, LGBT+ people, people with disabilities;
• stable – active since 2000, constantly developing a team of more than 40 specialists and the scope of assistance offered;
• professional – on basis of merit, communication and administration;
• reliable – holding a status of a public benefit organization (Organizacja Pożytku Publicznego, OPP), cooperating with many Polish and international companies and institutions.

For companies with similar values, this means:

• contributing to change – building a more friendly, open and diverse society;
• possibility to implement the goals of your CSR strategy;
• contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 10. Reducing inequalities,
• building an image of the organization operating in line with its values;
• promoting openness and tolerance among employees and building a corporate culture of diversity and inclusion.

Depending on the form and amount of support, taking into account the need to protect the privacy of people we help and the expectations of the Partner, we offer return benefits:

• communication services in selected or all of the Foundation’s channels (websites, social media);
• preparation of materials summarizing the company’s engagement (e.g. blog article, photo report, video spot, diplomas and thank-you letters);
• preparation of short electronic publications for employees promoting multiculturalism (e.g. brochures with recipes from various world cuisines);
• meetings, workshops or trainings for employees or their children (e.g. meeting with a representative of the Foundation, anti-discrimination training, culinary workshop, multicultural animations for kids).