STV GROUP SUPPORTED THE COLLECTION OF THE MILITARY SOLIDARITY FUND FOR WAR VETERANS DAY
raditionally, STV GROUP supported the Military Solidarity Fund collection for War Veterans' Day. It is celebrated every year on 11/11 in commemoration of the end of the First World War (signing of the armistice between the countries of the Entente and Germany on 11/11/1918 at 11 o'clock). Its symbol is the red poppy. It was poppies that covered the fields of the Western Front, and it was about them that military surgeon John McCrae wrote the poem On the Fields of Flanders, which commemorates fallen comrades. We handed over a check for 50,000 CZK to Brigadier General Lenka Šmerdová at the end of the fundraiser on 1 December 2022.
David Hác, chairman of the board of STV GROUP, commented on this already traditional support for war veterans: "We really appreciate what the Military Solidarity Fund and Mrs. Brigadier General Lenka Šmerdová do for war veterans. We are proud to be supporting, through the Military Solidarity Fund and other charitable activities, the perhaps somewhat neglected topic of caring for modern-day war veterans. Their service on the battlefields of Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq or Mali will forever be seen by us and our alliance partners as an immense contribution to ensuring our defense and to the fight against terrorism. But we must not forget that behind every war veteran there is also his personal story and the story of his family and loved ones. These are the true heroes for us."
STV GROUP is a long-term supporter of the Military Solidarity Fund. In 2021, we supported the publication of the fund's annual charity calendar, but we also support other activities such as the Run around the Republic.
On the Flanders Field (John McCrae, translated by Petr Dolejš):
Poppies bloom in a Flanders field
in the rows between the rows, where the paths lead us.
Skylarks fly silently in the clouds,
the larks in the clouds sing to us in vain
and the weapons are there in the field of heavy fire.
None of us survived, but a few days back
I saw the dawn and the last sunset.
We have fallen far from the friends of our dear ones,
we lie deep in the Flanders fields.
Farewell once more to your raging faults,
our hands will kindle the torches burning.
When you stand proudly with them, with faith in us who have fallen,
then we can sleep peacefully without the poppies wilting
on a field glowing red.