Zuzana Draková received the Heart on the Palm award for her volunteer activities

"All those we appreciate today prove to us that the desire to help does not have to come from duty or entitlement to a reward, but from a deep inner need and love for others. In the Trnava Region we are lucky to have a large number of people who are proof of this," Zuzana Šujanová, director of the Volunteer Centre of the Trnava Region (DCTK), told TASR.

The jury awarded prizes in six categories. In the category of volunteer coordinator, Adriána Tibenská from the civic association Swapnito, which organizes events to promote sustainability in Piešt'any and coordinates volunteers who help. Juraj Smolinský and Peter Procházka, who help and spend time with clients at the Mikádo Social Services Centre in Skalica, received the award as a volunteer group.

Among the awarded programmes this time was the volunteer programme of the Koburgovo Centre, which has been working with children and families from socially excluded localities in Trnava for ten years. Dagmar Kurincova from Trstín (Trnava district) was awarded for her long-term volunteer assistance. She has been volunteering in this village for 54 years.

A special award was given to Slavomír Bučák, who, together with other volunteers, is dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage - the mill in Čáčovo (municipal district of Senica). Lucia Madarová, coordinator of the project How Much Love Fits in a Shoebox for the TTSK, and a group of six blood donors from Gbiel (Skalica district) were also laureates.