A long-standing friend of the Foundation pledged his birthday by gifting us a generous donation. This way, he will make many children across Serbia happy, and their families, too. Thank you for your unconditional support for all these years.
A friend – a person you know and love, who is not a family member. Hmm“¦ not bad, thank you, dictionary. However, how often do we wonder who our friends are? Are they those people who give us surprises, embarrass us in public, make up funny nicknames and make fun of our style, or those who tell us to text them when we get home, or proudly talk about us to people that never met us? The answer is not simple, and one thing is certain: friends give meaning to our lives and make our lives better. There is no dictionary able to put the heart and love of your friend into a single definition.
Friends give meaning to our lives and make them better.
We at the Novak Djokovic Foundation, are lucky to have so many friends worldwide – friends who share the same values and sincere attentions with our founders and believe in dreams of children whose better tomorrow we aspire to secure. As time goes by, the number of our friends and the support we receive are on the rise. The way we have paved together and the steps we are yet to take is in itself the prize we should be proud of.
During this Season of Giving, one friend of ours has stood out with his generosity – he decided to gift himself the feeling of gratitude that he will carry in his heart. His selfless donation will change the lives of a thousand children. Thousands of little hearts will be beating in one – his own. The amount of our friend’s donation is not negligible either – it’s enough to open three new preschools! Although we had his support in the past, and we knew we could always count on him, we were surprised and deeply moved by his generosity. This only showed us again that our vision and way of thinking are perfectly aligned. Of course, as fantastic as the amount of the donation sounds, and it truly is fantastic indeed – it is not nearly so important as the gesture of a person willing to give up the material and physical pleasures in order to promote life quality in children he may never get to know. Instead of buying himself a new apartment or a luxurious automobile, he will contribute towards a significant number of children getting their new second home, 365 days a year. This only confirms what we already knew – that he is someone who loves people. What you do is what you become. Even though he asked for the donation to be anonymous, this brief text is the least we could do as a token of appreciation.
During this Season of Giving, one friend of ours has stood out with his generosity – he decided to gift himself the feeling of gratitude that he will carry in his heart.
This atypical example reminds us that, even in the time when everyone is in a hurry and does not look back when we barely have time to ourselves, let alone for other people, there are still people of pure heart who are grateful for what they have and are willing to share their blessing with others. It is true that we all are in different financial situations, and that one may have what another one desires. The key is that we should find happiness within ourselves, not in others. The need for giving and supporting others, who are less fortunate than us, should be sincere and personal, and not imposed or forced by someone else.
A majority of us can afford to renounce something and share it with others, which is a kind of privilege in its own right. Like sharing a snack in school, remember? Or, in sports terms – a basket makes one person happy but an assist makes two people happy.
With true friends by our side, we are yet to achieve many more great things.
It is true that the way our projects affect entire communities makes it harder for us to sleep at night because of all the excitement, but we still get enough sleep and we are ready to start over the next day with the same enthusiasm – we promise!
Together with true friends – like yourself and the one we have just told you about – we are sure that we are yet to achieve many more great things.
Thank you for your unconditional support! And, lest we forget, happy birthday!
The Season of Giving campaign is underway, as part of which we raise funds for launching kindergarten for 100 children in Niš. Join the campaign from anywhere on the planet and donate at fundraise.novakdjokovicfoundation.org.
