Beyond the Fields
At The Heavy Hitters Fundraising Softball Tournament, every run scored and every catch made goes beyond the field. Together, we're building more than just a tournament - we're building opportunities. By supporting education across the Czech Republic and empowering organizations and individuals who care for disadvantaged children, we aim to give every child a fair chance to learn, grow, and thrive. When you step onto the diamond, you're not only playing the game you love - you're helping change lives.
Below you'll find a list of projects we have been supporting over the long term. Initiatives that continue to make a real difference in the lives of children and their families.
Long-term hospitalized kids in Thomayers hospital, Prague
For the past ten years, a significant part of the proceeds from Heavy Hitters has been dedicated to the elementary and kindergarten school at Thomayer Hospital in Prague. Here, amazing nurse-teacher-caregivers make sure that children who are long-term hospitalized don't fall behind in their education. Just as importantly, through creative activities and personal care, they help the kids find relief, joy, and moments of normal childhood even during difficult times.
Loutky v nemocnici
Loutky v nemocnici (Puppets in Hospitals), is an organization that brings joy and relief to hospitalized children across the Czech Republic. Each year, almost 180,000 children are admitted to pediatric wards, many of them for extended stays. For young patients, the experience of pain, separation from family, and long hours in a hospital bed can feel overwhelming.
The dedicated hospital staff simply cannot provide each child with the individual attention and comfort they need—this is where Puppets in Hospitals step in. Through theatre, music, and play, their performers help children laugh, imagine, and momentarily forget the difficulties of illness. Their work doesn't stop with children: they also visit seniors and support people in need outside of hospitals, including in times of crisis.
Vigvam
Another organization we supported was Poradna Vigvam, which helps children, families, and schools cope with grief and loss. One of their key initiatives, supported by PPEF, was the crisis training course "When a School Faces Suicide."
The loss of a pupil to suicide was described as one of the most difficult situations a school community can face. Yet most teachers were not prepared—they lacked guidance, tools, and support on how to respond to the child's classmates, colleagues, parents, and to themselves.
Thanks to the PPEF grant, 20 teachers were able to attend this course free of charge. Led by Vigvam's experienced lecturers, the training provided concrete strategies, model scenarios, and a practical Crisis Plan for Schools—a tool that could make a critical difference in such a situation.
The goal was to strengthen the ability of school teams to respond to crisis with competence and compassion, and to ensure that no teacher felt alone when facing the unimaginable.
Metaculture
Since 2014, Metaculture brought together seniors and children from the home-school group Radostné děti for two three-day creative workshops at the SKLEP cultural space.
Through team collaboration, participants worked side by side to create short animated films reflecting intergenerational dialogue and the search for shared values between two distant age groups. Before the film-making itself, the groups took part in bonding activities focused on building understanding and dialogue across generations.
Mixed teams of 4–5 children and seniors, guided by professional lecturers, produced short animated films as joint creations of children and seniors, forming a bridge between generations. This deep interaction helped to break down prejudices and stereotypes, and gave participants the chance to see the world through each other's eyes.
Emma Hošková
In 2024, the PPEF Board approved an individual grant for Emma Hošková, a young girl facing the rare Pelizaeus–Merzbacher syndrome. This condition brings a number of severe complications, the most pressing being difficulties with food intake. Emma has been struggling with strong reflux, poor weight gain, and requires nutritional supplements to support her growth.
The future course of her health remains uncertain, and extensive surgery is likely to be necessary. Through this support, we aimed to ease at least part of the heavy burden carried by Emma and her family.
Eagles Prague
We also supported Eagles Prague Baseball Club in their activities for disadvantaged children. Through baseball, the club created a safe and inclusive environment where kids could learn teamwork, build confidence, and simply enjoy being part of a community. Our contribution helped the Eagles open the sport to children who otherwise might not have had the chance to play.