These approaching Christmas will be different from what we are used to. For many people, apart from the loneliness caused by the pandemic, it also proved to be a financial challenge. The Solidarity Assistance Corps for the Seniors were just established in support of the people who are the most in need. It entails nearly one million tons of food and a variety of items that will reach the elderly, homeless or single mothers.

The call for proposals for two programmes in support of persons with disabilities and their carers under Solidarity Fund has just started.

The best social economy entities and local government units awarded under this year's edition of the Social and Solidarity Economy Seal of Quality competition, organised by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy.

The last weeks of the Solidarity Assistance Corps for the Seniors have demonstrated that Polish citizens are ready to help one another in difficult situations. – Therefore, by the initiative of Polish President Andrzej Duda, we decided to extend the SACS with the so-called volunteer work of the convalescents. People who have undergone coronavirus infection can safely help e.g., residents of social welfare homes – says Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy.

The Ministry of Family and Social Policy presented the results of the 2021 edition of Toddler+ competition for municipalities to establish new places of care. Due to the programme, nearly 6.2 thousand municipal places of care for children up to the age of 3 will be created in municipalities, in a total of 190 publicly owned care facilities, i.e. nurseries, children's clubs and daily carers owned by local governments.

The negative effects of the pandemic are undoubtedly experienced in numerous areas of the economy. These difficulties are also experienced by the entities which employ mostly persons with disabilities. These include, among others, occupational therapy workshops, vocational activity establishments and social economy entities. – I wholeheartedly encourage you to support the work of persons with disabilities. We can, for instance, order the meals or Christmas ornaments they have produced – appeals Marlena Maląg, the Minister of Family and Social Policy.

This Saturday, i.e. 21 November, this year for the 30th time, we are celebrating Social Worker's Day. On this day, we would like to express our special thanks to all employees of social services, especially social workers, both those employed in local government units and those operating in numerous non-public entities.

We perceive supporting families as an investment, not a cost. Family is a foundation of all of our activities. We are developing a demographic strategy to designate the further directions for providing support to families, to help us reverse the negative demographic trends – said the Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg during the press conference.

Pandemic is a difficult time for everyone, but some are particularly affected. These include people struggling with the homelessness crisis. - This year we have allocated a total of over PLN 17 million to support the homeless. At the end of September we launched, among other things, an additional competition under the “Overcome homelessness. Assistance Programme for the Homeless” - indicates Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy.

We are expanding the area and scope of activity of the Solidarity Senior Support Corps. From now on, becoming a Digital Volunteer of the Corps helps seniors, even away from home. E-volunteers will introduce elderly people to the digital world so that they can learn how to deal with their needs in a safe way – via the Internet, informs Minister Marlena Maląg.