Soup that Helps: A local tradition with a charitable purpose
The Polévka, která pomáhá or Soup that Helps charity organization earned its record number of sales for a rainy day this weekend in the town of Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav north of Prague, raising over 300,000czk for the Brandýs Mental Health Center and the Help the Bees workshop in the city. Sierra Krueger-Wolfe was there.
Šárka Bartoníčková has been hosting Polévka, která pomáhá events in Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav since 2022. I was able to pull her away on the morning of the event as volunteers raced around her restaurant’s garden lined patio, setting up the final details for the big afternoon ahead.
We stood beneath one of the red tents lining the corner of the patio to hide from the drizzling rain. I first asked her how she was feeling with the event just hours away from being in full swing.
“I’m a little nervous, but it’s getting better every year. The only thing bothering us is the rain, just a little, but then again, soup is perfect for these cold, damp days.”
She turned out to be right, not only did the rain not stop people from attending, when the front gates were opened at 10am there was already a line of people waiting outside. Young and old, they all came streaming in smiling despite the rain, and as the day went on soups sold out, and space on the tables beneath the tents filled up.
I spoke with Hanka Červinková who attended the event Saturday afternoon and has been coming for years now. She came with a friend and her son, who all sat with steaming soups in front of them.
"Yeah. I came because I come every year. We like it here; it’s nice. And since the money goes to charity, that’s great. I just saw that it’s for the bees—that’s awesome."
Hankas friends’ son: "The soups here are good, too!"
“Yeah, the soups are great -the best one for us is probably the roasted garlic soup; that’s our favorite. And pho bo - that’s good, too. Even though the weather’s bad, I think it turned out pretty well here. It’s great.”
According to many of the attendees I spoke with and Šárka herself the events have become a sort of tradition in the city, bringing friends and neighbors to meet over soup and good will. I asked Šárka what it takes to put on a charity event of this size.
“A lot of people worked on it. A lot. Like, really a lot. Of course, friends help out, but this year, for example, we also got the Czech Army on board—they’re actually based here in Stará Boleslav—and they volunteered on their own just yesterday to send soldiers here to help us set it up. So it’s kind of both.”
Many groups from Brandýs made soup and manned stations on Saturday, from local companies, and non-profits, to a viral influencer dad from the city. Each group brings their own soup, and Šárka’s son David Bartoníček told me some of the soups have even become sort of traditions, with many repeat attendees having a specific soup in mind before they arrive.
The previous two years the events proceeds went to support a young boy from Brandýs, Šárka told me about how much the Polévka, která pomáhá events were able to help him.
“We’ve helped the most with this seriously ill little boy here who actually had cancer. He also has severe epilepsy, and we’ve been helping him for two years in a row now, and actually—the first year we paid for his neurorehabilitation, which really helped him.”
I asked Šárka what giving back means to her.
“Well, it feels good, and I think we should help. You get the feeling of—satisfaction. We get so much from this world, so we have to give something back. It always makes me feel good because I’m investing some energy and my time into something that actually brings joy to other people and helps someone. So I think that it’s simply our duty.”
Polévka, která pomáhá is also active in Tábor, Třebon, Česky Krumlov and České Budějovice, each chapter choosing its own charities that can be found on the organizations transparent funds page. To get involved with a nearby chapter, or to start your own visit www.polevkakterapomaha.cz.
