Charity drive uses vintage vehicle to fund Vilnius hospice

A fundraising initiative titled ‘Żukiem dla Życia’ has launched to support the Father Michael Sopoćka Hospice in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of seven people is traveling over 1,500 km from Krakow to Vilnius in a 1962 Żuk vehicle to raise funds.

The goal of the campaign is to collect 90,000 euros, an amount intended to cover one month of the hospice's operating costs. The facility, founded by Michaela Rak, is the only institution of its kind in Lithuania providing free care. It employs nearly 90 specialists and assists over 400 patients and their families annually across two buildings and home hospice services.

While the Lithuanian state covers half of the hospice's 9 million PLN annual operating costs, the remainder must be raised independently. The traveling group includes musicians who will perform during the journey to engage the public in the cause.