Chance and happiness also needed to deploy talent
Three times more applicants for the opportunity offered by Csányi Foundation.
This year, the number of supported children in the Csányi Foundation will rise from 180 to 225. There were 123 applicants for the 45 announced positions this year. The immense number of applicants indicates the great trust towards the work of the Foundation. The quality education and support system is guaranteed from the age of ten until the end of tertiary education with a successful degree and is unique in the world. The programmes offered by the Foundation give the chance for the financially disadvantaged young students to deploy their talents, to learn in colleges and universities, to look for new perspectives and new ways of life and use all of these successfully. During the official opening ceremony on 20th March, Dr. Sándor Csányi talked about the plans of the Foundation.
“Talent, promise, potential, the possibility in the person, and those who can make the most of their exceptional aptitude… are the talents. From the vast pool of inborn aptitudes, which ones will come true depend mostly on external circumstances. … The results of our experiments indicate that only one out of ten exceptionally talented students will become a talent” Dr Endre Czeizel
The mission of the Csányi Foundation is to help talented children profit from their aptitude. Continuous assistance, care and attention are provided; support is given to their families and communities which can also help young children to obtain a degree. Fourteen years of support is given in exchange for diligence and endurance.
The Csányi Foundation was set up in 2005, initially supporting 20 students. Since this beginning, the Foundation has become almost ten times bigger with 180 supported children. This year, the Community Houses in Pécs, Szeged and Nagybajom will each welcome 15 new supported members. Due to the growing number in the Community House of Pécs, the previous one was not spacious enough so the Foundation decided to find a new location. The current two groups will enjoy the company of a further group this year and, in two years time, the number of supported children in the Community House of Pécs will reach 57.
Further plans are even more grandiose. By 2015, the number of supported children should be 300 nationwide. This plan will be helped by the opening of the Community House of Mohács with its two new groups (2×15 children) next year.
Membership can be gained solely through tendering. Presently, Kaposvár, Szeged, Jászberény, Nagybajom and Pécs are the centres of the programme. After the pre-selection process, conducted by professionals, the Board of Trustees make the final decision. Children can be participants of the programme from the 4th grade and they get professional and financial support until the end of their tertiary education.
Throughout the years, the Foundation tried to guide a great number of young students towards success, better possibilities and enrichment. Last year, Balázs Bozsóki, who has been a member of the Foundation since he was eleven, was admitted to the University of Pécs Faculty of Science, proving his diligence and endurance. “I have a lot of thanks for the Foundation. This is a great opportunity which accompanies me throughout my studies. I can get all the support for my studies, and through various camps I can learn about the world and – of course – I made many new friends. We can count on each other now and in the future as well.” said Balázs. He has been a member of the Community Houses of Nagybajom and Kaposvár, and his present achievement is owed to the Foundation’s unique Life Path Programme.
“The philosophy behind the Life Path Programme of the Foundation is that real social impact cannot be reached with occasional support, only with long-term, reasonable support which helps the students and their families as well. We, the mentors, are there for the children for many years (10-14 years) and help their individual development. We were happy to have a new Community House as we can help even more children to deploy their talent and make their dreams come true.” – said Edina Nagy, a mentor from the Community House of Pécs.
The last few years have revealed the success of the Programme. This means real chance and successful guidance for the supported children until the end of university. However, probably the most important thing is that the members of the Foundation are happy and cheerful children. Despite the hard work, the children form a strong and coherent community and are responsible towards each other and towards the Foundation. Another unique feature is the community forming movements among parents which is called ‘Academy of Parents’ – a sequence of lectures is held to help parents deal with difficulties that they might encounter with their teenagers.
The founder, Dr. Sándor Csányi, believes that being well-known, originating from financial well-being, ties the person to be more responsible for social problems. He thinks it is very important that real values – talented children, valuable people and valuable creations – get a chance in life.
The high level of interest and commitment towards the work of the Foundation is justified by the great number of patrons, individuals and companies who help to augment financial resources that can be expended on children in need. For six years, our organisation has been collecting the 1% tax offers from Hungarian taxpayers who are devoted to supporting talented children.