CowParade and Charity

An important component of the CowParade is the contribution to charity. At the conclusion of each event, the cows are herded up and many are auctioned, with a substantial portion of the proceeds benefiting charity. The Chicago auction raised an amazing $3,000,000.00 for charity. In the Prague auction last year, the highest winning bid was 30.000 USD for the cow called "Freedom for Cows", made by Václav Havel. Until today, CowParade has collected more than 14 millions of dollars for charity around the world.

CowParade in Slovakia would also like to contribute to a good cause and therefore we have decided to grant the proceeds of the auction to children in need. The Cows in the city will be merry, colorful and will cause a smile on every child's face. We would like to go beyond this smile and contribute to a better future of our children, especially those who are handicapped in some way, mentally, physically or otherwise. We have asked the Foundation for the Children of Slovakia to help us understand our area of interest and together we chose a project, which will receive our donation. Thanks to this money we will allow children and young people with specific needs* to lead a complete life. We want to support:
• Integration of these children into their natural environment (school, spare time, work);
• Building and development of skills and abilities which will help them integrate into their natural environment;
• Involving family relatives into common activities with the children.

*These are children with specific needs, which live in a family environment: children with a mental, physical, hearing, visual and combined disability, autistic children, long-term disabled children, children with a weak health, children with speech and behaviour defects, children with learning defects and defects of psycho-social and emotional development.

Foundation for the Children of Slovakia

The Foundation for the Children of Slovakia is the biggest independent non-governmental organization which works exclusively with children and young people. The mission of the foundation is to support the versatile development of the child's personality; cooperate with everyone who is willing to invest into the development of children; encourage the cooperation of professionals and volunteers which are forming the personality of children and young people; cultivate the environment which perceives the problems of children and young people; and help all children and young people of Slovakia without restriction. Since it's founding until May 2005, the Foundation for the Children of Slovakia has supported 1077 projects, granted financial support of 87 709 448 Sk and helped more than 400 thousand children and young people.

Children are our joy, they are our future and they still need us.
By getting involved in CowParade also you will provide helping hand!

Specialized primary school in Trnava

The mission of this school is to give basic education to mentally disabled children, with specializing on pre-professional training. Their aim is to allow the children to gain sufficient knowledge and skills needed for their social integration.

Since the children are physically disabled, the school provides them with a non-barrier environment (there is a ramp for wheelchairs in front of the building, the doors have no threshold, hand rails are installed in the hallways and classrooms). There is not a very wide theoretical and methodological background to education and training of children with combined handicap. The school is therefore participating actively in creating this theoretical base.

Thanks to CowParade the school will be able to finance the following activities:

• support of art therapy in the educational process; (Art therapy inspires creativity, develops all senses, perception, coordination and orientation on the body and in the area. The art therapy does not evaluate the result, level or quality of the art of the children. Most important is the process of creation itself. The children are enjoying themselves without realizing that what they are doing is part of a therapy. They are coloring water, painting specific experiences or fairy tales and by this they are developing their personality)

• self-realization workshop;
(they are being led by a volunteer teacher of the school)

• development of the children's skills for daily life;
(the goal of the school is not only to teach the children certain knowledge, but to give them the basics of self-attendance and thus prepare them for an independent future)