The country’s largest school fundraising program, organized by PontVelem, GLS and the Maltese Charity Service, is now ten years old

The MosolyManók fundraising campaign was launched in 2016 by the PontVelem Smart Program with the Maltese Charity Service with the intention of ensuring that children from difficult families also receive gifts at Christmas. The campaign calls on primary school children to put together a gift package from toys and sweets that they would be happy with, but are still in good condition or have just bought, and to deliver them to their school with a personal message, thus bringing a smile to the faces of children in need. GLS Hungary joined the campaign as a logistics partner, delivering the packages from the schools to the Charity Service warehouses, and the children receive the gifts in person before the holiday. The program has been supported from the beginning by the State Secretariat for Public Education of the Ministry of the Interior.

During the nine years of the campaign, a total of around 90 thousand gift packages were made for primary school children in need. All primary schools in the country can join the campaign and the collection can also be supported with a monetary donation via the adomanyozz.hu website.

The Smiley Elves campaign also aims to draw the attention of children and parents to the fact that donating is not about littering, but about providing conscious help that requires attention and empathy. Therefore, the organizers ask donors: if they offer a used toy, make sure that it is flawless, complete and clean, and to put sweets with an expiration date of more than six months in the box. The packages, put together with caring attention, can be real Christmas gifts for children living in difficult situations. You can make the gift more personal with a kind message for the child being gifted.

The collection of donations will last until December 10, 2025 in educational institutions!

This year, in the Christmas Smiley Elves campaign, children can drop off their gifts at schools until December 10th, where teachers participating in the collection (or parents helping them) only have to register on the pontvelem.hu website and indicate that there is a package ready for delivery at the school. GLS Hungary will take them to the warehouses of the Maltese Charity Service, and the organization will deliver them to children in need in the poorest settlements, temporary homes for families, schools and kindergartens before Christmas.

The organizers chose the name of the campaign, Christmas Smiley Elves, because it reflects the dual purpose of the campaign: the gifts bring joy to children from difficult families, and the children who give gifts can experience the joy of providing selfless help. The organizers encourage parents to make the preparation of the gift a joint activity, during which they talk about what it means to help and to turn to others with caring attention. Children whose institutions do not have a unified collection can also join the campaign. They should contact the Maltese collection point closest to them so that every child who wants to help can do so.

In addition to children, adults also have the opportunity to join the Smile Elves. Those who want to help but have outgrown school age can offer the amount intended for the donation on the Maltese Charity Service website https://adomanyozz.hu/gyujtes/mosolymanok_2025. Monetary donations can also be sent by bank transfer to the account number 11784009-20200745 (OTP Bank) with the note “Smile Elves”. The amount raised will be used by the Maltese Charity Service to provide Christmas gifts for children in need.

Details of the collection can be found on the website mosólymanok.hu, as well as on the websites pontvelem.hu and maltai.hu.

The MosolyManók helped their peers in need at the start of school for the fifth time, and during the summer MosolyTáska collection, they donated more than 1,700 school bags.

In the PontVelem Smart Program, children participating in the program can practice charity all year round. You can read more about the SegítsVelem – Adni jó! initiative by clicking here.