A year has passed and we have more winners of the popular school competition Recycle and Win, which Milk-Agro has been announcing for 15 years. We talked with Mrs. Soňa Spišáková, who is the coordinator of the competition at the Regional Autism Center in Prešov.
How many years have you participated in the competition?
It will be 6 – 7 years. We manage to place every year in our category, whether in collecting caps or tetra packs. This year we placed in both in the top 10. In fact, in the first year we joined the competition, we won first place in the category Create a Slogan and the slogan was: One thought, one goal, with Milkagro I want to help people and nature.
What does this competition mean to you?
Besides the fact that the prizes help the whole organization, mainly children, the whole competition is a great motivation for the idea of waste sorting for the organization, children, and parents. Recycling waste helps nature and thus our life in it. But we recycle not only during the competition, we sort various secondary raw materials that we then take to the collection yard. Especially paper, plastic bottles, and their caps. The Recycle and Win competition was the initial impulse for our children to learn to sort waste and thus help nature.
Prizes belong to the competition...
The competition system is cleverly designed and winning institutions receive vouchers with which they buy supplies for children. So we buy supplies that we use during the year, such as crayons, paints, plasticine, colored papers, adhesive tapes, face paints, balloons, and thus also help parents. Parents of autistic children already have many expenses, so they are very grateful for any help...
Does the number of purchased SABI products increase during the competition?
It increases, because not only pupils collect but also parents, friends, neighbors. The products taste excellent, are healthy, and indirectly fulfill another goal of the competition, which is to consume healthier foods.
Does the competition mainly support waste separation from your point of view?
Not only waste sorting but also children's creativity. You can see it in the creations themselves. Every year the level rises and rises. About two years ago, we made a whole band from caps, guitar, drums, bass, piano in life size. We glued an mp3 player into the piano and when we turned it on, it played a song we also composed for the competition. For children, this competition is an opportunity for fun, ideas, but we also try to cultivate a sense of responsibility and loyalty to the school in them. The whole school lives Milk-Agro from March until the specific day in April. Parents ask how many more caps need to be brought or how many tetra packs to gather.
You did not participate in the "creations" category this year?
In previous years we actively competed in it. This year we did not participate in it nor in the Song category due to the 10th anniversary of our school. We prepared a big and rich program in the Prešov PKO, there were many invited guests, sponsors, and former graduates, it was a joyful event.
There were certainly many reasons to celebrate...
Our organization has many different organizational units dedicated to children and pupils with autism. We have a kindergarten, school, practical school, center for special pedagogical counseling, specialized facility for clients with autism with daily outpatient and weekly residential forms. We try to create conditions for our children to integrate into society as much as possible. The nearest challenge will be the opening of the Autcafé confectionery in cooperation with the city as a protected workplace for young people with autism. We have long cooperated with Milk-Agro and it is one of the main sponsors at various events, for which we are very grateful. It is one of the few companies that promptly responds to our requests, whether we celebrate Children's Day, St. Nicholas Day, and similar. They help with sweets or their delicacies, yogurts, or sabináčiky.
Thank you for the interview and we wish many creative ideas in future competitions with Milk-Agro.
