Zagreb, Croatia, October 22th, 2024 – The Brave Phone helpline (Croatian: Hrabri telefon) has opened the doors of the new Brave Center (Hrabri centar) in Zagreb, providing a space where children and their parents can access a wide range of support services. Mplus supported the project both as a financial sponsor and by managing a calling campaign that reached over 20,000 potential donors.
Hana Hrpka, President of Brave Phone at the opening ceremony
Photo: Mplus
The 500 square meter facility features rooms for group and individual preventive work with children, counseling services, and coordinated offices for various projects and programs.
Brave Phone is well-known for its free advisory hotline for children (116-111) and parents (0800-0800), but its efforts extend beyond these services to over ten national and international projects. With more than 180 volunteers, Brave Phone has been dedicated to protecting the interests of children and youth for over 27 years.
The opening of the center follows a challenging construction period, marked by cost adjustments due to rising material and service prices. At the opening ceremony, Hana Hrpka, President of Brave Phone, expressed her gratitude to the numerous companies and people who contributed to the fundraising campaign.
She highlighted the support from European funds, citizens, Mplus, and the media house Nova TV, which was crucial for the realization of this project.
Mplus and Brave Phone – a successful collaboration
Nikolina Antolić, Director of Corporate Communications, Mplus, Hana Hrpka, Brave Phone, and Bruna Kostelac Košir, Chief People Officer, Mplus
Photo: Mplus
Mplus has been an integral partner in this project, supporting Brave Phone not only financially but also by managing a calling campaign that reached over 20,000 potential donors.
This campaign was key in establishing a donation system, creating the first donor base, and laying the groundwork for future fundraising activities.
Photo: Mplus
"We are thrilled with the results of our collaboration and the opportunity to support such a valuable and important organization. Our campaign helped raise nearly 15,000 euros, supporting the construction of the new center. We look forward to continuing and expanding our partnership with Brave Phone," Bruna Kostelac Košir, Chief People Officer at Mplus, said.
"At Brave Phone, we know how much courage a child must have to share his problem with an adult. With the decision to build the Center, we also had to be corageous, and seek the help and support of numerous partners. This would not have been possible without a large team of dedicated people and support from European funds, citizens, the Mplus company and the Nova TV media company. I would like to thank everyone and invite children, parents and experts to get involved in the numerous services and events planned in the Brave Center", Hana Hrpka, President of Brave Phone, said.
Photo: Mplus
Brave Phone offers services tailored to children and youth without proper parental care, victims of domestic violence, pregnant women and parents with children up to one year old, and members of their families or foster families.
The services are available from Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 8 PM, accessible via phone, email, chat, forums, or Facebook.
You can find out more about the Mplus-Brave Phone partnership here https://bit.ly/4fgdQIO.
About Brave Phone
In the first half of 2024, Brave Phone's advisory lines received a total of 2,062 inquiries from children, parents, and others concerned about the wellbeing of children in their surroundings. The inquiries often related to family relationships, particularly involving divorce, as well as the mental health of children and youth, with an average of nearly daily discussions on suicide and every other day on self-harm.
These statistics underline the critical need for a stronger approach to preventing these issues. The "New Beginnings – Expanding Social Services of Brave Phone" project, funded by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), and Cohesion Fund (CF) for the period 2014-2020, was instrumental in facilitating the expansion of services, marking a new chapter for Brave Phone.
