The power of a helping spirit and a united community can truly move mountains — and this year’s Day of Selflessness was proof of that. At the event conceived by Zoltán Gazsi, civil organisations, socially responsible companies, and enthusiastic volunteers came together in pursuit of a more inclusive world. As Zoltán put it in his opening address, quoting an Indian guru: “Those who do good things have wonderful things happen to them.” Our foundation’s staff and volunteers returned home with immense gratitude and pride — for not only did we meet a remarkable number of extraordinary people, but the presentation we delivered on the main stage of the Millenáris Theatre also won the event’s Audience Award!

This year, 25 selected civil organisations were given the opportunity to present themselves to the general public with their own exhibition stand, and 7 of these were invited to take part in the “Among the Dolphins” programme. For us, this event was about much more than a public showcase — it was about forming genuine, meaningful connections and truly being present for one another. In his speech, Zoltán Gazsi highlighted that even Darwin recognised it: what has most supported human development and survival is our capacity to care for one another — love and empathy. It was precisely this kind of caring, attentive spirit that we experienced throughout the day.

An aerial view of the busy, spacious event hall, with stands from civil organisations. In the foreground, the Baráthegyi Guide Dog School’s stand is visible, with dogs and visitors gathered around it.

A Constant Stream of Visitors at Our Stand

There was barely a moment when we were without visitors. Children and adults alike approached us with curiosity. Our goal was to introduce them to the world of visually impaired people and guide dogs in an interactive, playful way.

Our colleague Zoltán Vida recalls the day: “A great many people came over to us. They learned about Braille writing, and we also had scent and object recognition games prepared. In our conversations, the topic of navigation came up most often — people were most curious about how the dog and handler find their way to a destination, and who is actually in charge on the road.”

The scent and object recognition activities allowed visitors to experience first-hand what it is like to rely solely on touch and smell, and to try out what it feels like to travel with a guide dog. The undisputed stars of the day were, of course, our future guide dog puppies, who accepted every stroke and pat with tireless enthusiasm. Through conversation, we were also able to dispel a great many misconceptions: many people were surprised to learn, for example, that a guide dog is not a “living GPS” — rather, the handler and dog navigate as a coordinated team, with the visually impaired person setting the direction and the dog taking responsibility for safe obstacle avoidance.

“Among the Dolphins”

One of the most exciting and challenging highlights of the event was the aforementioned “Among the Dolphins” programme, which took place in the Millenáris Theatre. The 7 selected organisations each had the opportunity to step onto the main stage and deliver a strictly five-minute pitch presenting their project to a four-member jury: Dr. Eszter Varga, Dr. Tamás Kaibinger, Albert Sárospataki, and Szabina Tomán.

According to Zoltán, the initial nerves before stepping on stage quickly gave way to a warm feeling as it became clear that both the jury and the audience were genuinely interested in the life of a visually impaired person and the tremendous difference a guide dog can make.

“This was a real challenge for us — in addition to presenting our mission, we also had to incorporate a for-profit perspective into our pitch, and condense all of that into five minutes. It was wonderful to see the jury listening with genuine interest, and we received thoughtful questions from every ‘Dolphin’ — often quite personal ones, or questions relating to our vision for the future,” said our Head of Strategy, Mónika Papp.

The jury, too, found it a fresh and eye-opening experience to learn more deeply about guide dog training and the way visually impaired people navigate the world. In a show of great generosity, the “Dolphins” ultimately decided to go beyond their original plan and declared that all 7 presenting organisations were worthy of recognition and support.

The Greatest Recognition: The Audience Award

As the crowning moment of the day, our foundation won the event’s Audience Award — worth 1,000,000 Hungarian forints. As Zoltán Vida put it: “This is a tremendous thing. It means that people find the work our foundation does both interesting and valuable.”

The amount pledged by the Dolphins was further supplemented by donations from the audience, resulting in an additional 1,000,000 forints raised for guide dog training.

The spirit of selflessness permeated every moment of the event. We learned a great deal from the other organisations about sustainability and conscious action, and we built connections that hold the promise of excellent future collaborations.

It is this spirit of caring attention and its message that we now carry forward. Thank you to everyone who came, asked questions, offered support, and cast their vote to help us win the Audience Award!

This year we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, we have provided more than 200 assistance dogs free of charge.

Please support their training with 1% of your personal income tax!

Our tax number for 1% donation: 18449149–1–05

Baráthegyi Guide and Assistance Dog School Foundation

If you provide your mailing address, we will also send you our guide dog calendar for next

year in the thank you letter.

The easiest way to donate 1% of your personal income tax is through the National Tax and

Customs Administration of Hungary (NTCA /NAV) online interface, via the customer portal.