WINK AT THE SUN 2012 – at final »Wink at the Sun« before school starts, fun-packed Lek Sunshine Games and Funny Olympics

As the last days of the holidays are ticking away, children and their parents are probably already thinking about the new school term. Despite this Maribor saw today another fun-packed holiday-style event adding more nice holiday memories that can be a reason to look forward even more to a new school year as the first discussions among school mates are usually about holiday experiences and adventures. Therefore it is so important that all children have a chance to spend relaxing, creative and exciting holidays. Unfortunately there are an increasing number of parents among us who by the end of the school year are already worried about how to provide their young ones in the autumn with new school equipment, not to mention what to offer them in the holiday. To at least some of those families, Slovene Association of Friends of Youth (SAFY) and its long-term partner Lek, a Sandoz company, again this year made free holidays possible with the humanitarian initiative »A Wink at the Sun«.

SAFY and Lek, a Sandoz Company, holding for the fourteenth year in a row the charity campaign A Wink at the Sun

The Slovene Association of Friends of Youth and its long-term partner Lek, a Sandoz company, organised this year A Wink at the Sun for the fourteenth time in a row. At the national level, this year’s campaign provided free holidays for around 300 children, however, the campaign being very strong also at the level of 122 local associations and societies within the Friends of Youth, SAFY estimates that around 1,000 children in total are expected to enjoy a free holiday with the Friends of Youth at the PanSlovenian level. With the help of funds from the Fiho Foundation, 100 children with special needs spent holidays this year with the Association of Friends of Youth. The final total number of free holidays will be known in the Children’s Week at the beginning of October.

Lek Sunshine Games – hosted at Funny Olympics in Maribor

Lek, a Sandoz company, took care that the last event of the summer for children gathered in Maribor was as enjoyable and unforgettable as possible. The Funny Olympics, organised by the Association of Friends of Youth Maribor, hosted again the already traditional Lek Sunshine sports activities.

Over 14 years, 200,000 Euros for free holidays for children

With the help of the humanitarian campaign »A Wink to the Sun« Lek has allocated more than 200,000 Euros for free holidays to date. »Lek, a Sandoz company, has been co-creating the Wink at the Sun campaign for 14 years. We are glad that throughout all these years we contributed to make free holidays possible for around 10,000 children and helped the initiative to become one of the most trusted campaigns to help Slovenian children. In all these years we have been visiting the holiday resorts and realising repeatedly how precious such relaxed, creative and fun-packed holidays are among peers, under the watchful eye of kind and caring carers and other kind hearted staff in the SAFY holiday facilities. For 10 years we have also been organising the Lek Sunshine Games. After Kranjska Gora in July, we brought Sunshine Games to the last event of the summer before the start of the new school year, to Maribor. The children will be entertained and recharged for the new school year by the ever entertaining Grega the Magician,« said Mojca Pavlin from Lek, a Sandoz company.

On this occasion, a press conference was held, in which the participants presented the course of the humanitarian initiative »Wink to the Sun« and the programs for the new school year prepared by the Slovene Association of Friends of Youth and Association of Friends of Youth Maribor.

Darja Groznik, president of the Slovene Association of Friends of Youth: »Sincere thanks to our partner Lek and to all the good willed people and many companies who have been joining this campaign for many years, enabling free holidays for children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Our long-term experience with organising holidays for children shows that holiday making has a significant therapeutic, relaxing and encouraging effect on children. Under the watchful eye of trained carers and caring staff children have fun and engage in sports activities; they swim, go on excursions, play and are actively involved in preparing evening programs. There is lots of room not only for creativity and carefree fun, but also for expressing their feelings about different hardships that children encounter and which nobody really listed to until now. With beautiful natural outdoor surroundings, sunshine, friends, healthy and excellent food and the bonus of being at one of our wonderful holiday resorts, there are more than enough great opportunities for children to ‘let off steam’. I believe that this present concept will be maintained in the years to come and that we will together continue to pursue a noble mission of friends of youth.«

Slovene Association of Friends of Youth getting ready for a new school year

At the Slovene Association of Friends of Youth we are already eagerly preparing for challenges in the new school year; we are preparing training courses for mentors of Children’s Parliaments – this year, young parliamentarians will discuss and actively solve problems on the subject of growing up. Young history researchers will be looking through books and studying reading culture; the Europe at School project will this year be dedicated to European year of citizenship; Children’s Week – the first week in October, will be dedicated to Joys and hardships of growing up.