October Newsletter KNK

💙 Welcome to Your KNK Community! This issue offers an overview of the work of the Community Foundation “Korçarët Ndihmojmë Korçarët” (KNK) and our plans for the remaining months of the year. Continuing Preparations for the “Age Is Just a Number” Project Over the coming months, we will continue preparing for the implementation of our “Age Is Just a Number” project, which aims to provide treatment and rehabilitation for older adults experiencing mobility difficulties. Our primary goal is to help at least 25 older people regain essential physical abilities and achieve greater independence in their daily lives through appropriate rehabilitation and physiotherapy. The project is expected to launch in 2027 and will run for one year. Our founder, Dr. Yvonne Naum, has pledged a matching grant of $7,000 towards this initiative, provided that we raise an equivalent amount through the generosity of our donors. November–December: Albanian Online Giving Week From November 24 to December 1, with the aim of promoting a culture of solidarity and collective philanthropy, we will take part in Albanian Online Giving Week. Twenty nonprofit organizations will come together in a nationwide philanthropic initiative. This is the first event of its kind, organized with the support and guidance of the Global Albanians Foundation (GAF). It represents a collective effort by Albanians, wherever they may live, to support their communities and fellow citizens throughout the Albanian-speaking world. During this campaign, KNK will launch and promote its “Age Is Just a Number” project, while continuing its initiative to create a Forest Corridor in Korçë Hills Park, which we launched last winter. October–November: The International “Niko Nikolla” Cartoon Biennale During October and November, in partnership with the Global Albanians Foundation (GAF), we will support the organization of the fourth edition of the International “Niko Nikolla” Cartoon Biennale, held in Korçë. We will contribute $1,000 towards the first prize winner. Furthermore, together with the Biennale's organizers, we aim to establish a summer school for talented children and young people interested in this field of visual arts. YES TO THE FRENCH LYCEUM IN KORÇË – NO TO THE FELLING OF 75 PINE TREES! In recent days, our Foundation has raised its voice over a major environmental concern arising from the project to construct the French Lyceum in our city. According to preliminary information, 75 Black Pine trees are at risk of being felled within the grounds of the Faculty of Natural and Human Sciences. We have strongly called upon the relevant public institutions to ensure full transparency and protect this valuable natural heritage, seeking to prevent the felling of these approximately 80-year-old pine trees. We firmly believe that educational development and environmental protection must go hand in hand. Civil Society Engagement in Public Budgeting Processes Our Foundation participated in a two-day training session organized by **Partners Albania for Change and Development**, alongside fellow organizations and colleagues from the Korçë region. The discussions focused on how local organizations can play a more active role in public budgeting processes and decision-making, as well as the increasingly challenging landscape of funding and sustainability for civil society organizations. The training was delivered within the framework of the project “Civil Society Engagement in Public Budgeting Processes," with financial support from the International Budget Partnership (IBP), funded by the European Union. Remembering Albanian Philanthropists! Mit'hat Frashëri: When Wealth Becomes Knowledge “I wish that nothing be separated from my private library; let all the books remain together.” When he passed away on October 3, 1949, far from his homeland and alone, he left behind an idea: that Albania should come to know itself through knowledge. His philanthropy was a quiet act of generosity. His library, one of the richest Albanian collections of its time, contained approximately 20,000 volumes in numerous languages, along with hundreds of manuscripts concerning Albania and the Balkans. On March 4, 1929, he took the step that distinguishes a collector from a benefactor. In his will, deposited with the Tirana Court, he wrote: “Whatever movable or immovable property I possess, including books, furniture, documents, belongings, money, etc., I leave for the establishment of an ‘Institute of Albanology,' which shall serve as a center for Albanian studies, to protect, develop, consolidate, and guide research concerning Albania and the Albanian people.” Through this extraordinary act of generosity, Mit'hat Frashëri demonstrated that true philanthropy goes beyond material wealth: it is an investment in knowledge, identity, and the future of a nation.