What is Help Centre Belgium?
Who are Sztabki?
We were founded during the pandemic in 2020 as a group of friends providing assistance in Belgium, transforming on June 16 of the same year into Help Centre Belgium a.s.b.l - Sztab Pomocy Belgia. Today, we are a large humanitarian organization operating in crisis situations, filling the gap in immediate aid systems.
On March 17, 2024, we underwent rebranding and now identify ourselves as Sztabki,
retaining our original names for humanitarian actions.
As a modern association, we engage in various activities supporting the building of the Polish community in Belgium, but primarily focusing on the development of Volunteer teams.
We are the core of the Polish Day in Brussels event in 2022-2023-2024.
A Year of Challenges and Successes for the Sztabki.
The year 2024 was one of the most demanding in our five-year history. We faced official exclusion in Poland and were restricted from accessing 99% of grant programs dedicated to the Polish diaspora.
Despite this, thanks to the extraordinary strength of our volunteers, we proved that together we can achieve truly great things.
So, what did we accomplish?
Here’s a summary:
-
Organization Rebranding – Our everyday activities now operate under the name Sztabki, while our humanitarian efforts continue under Help Centre Belgium and Sztab Pomocy Belgia.
-
Polish Day in Brussels 2024 – 120 volunteers, thousands of work hours, and seven months of preparation to create the largest Polish event outside of Poland.
-
The largest structured Polish diaspora organization abroad – We expanded our Head Office, Staff, and Volunteer teams, bringing a new level of quality to everything we do.
-
Wiadomo.be in action – Our media team proved that volunteer-based journalism works and makes a big impact. Thanks to them, we documented not only our activities but also the growing importance of the Polish community in Belgium and across Europe.
-
Humanitarian aid – We united the Polish diaspora in Belgium to organize the largest fundraising campaign for flood victims in Poland. Our aid continues to reach those who need it most.
-
“Promoter of Polish Identity on the International Stage” Award – Our work was recognized and honored by the Internazionale Associazione Polacca (International Polish Diaspora Association), which gives us even more motivation to continue.
-
Cultural projects despite the odds – We hosted outstanding guests, including legendary Solidarity figures such as Danuta Kuroń, Michał Boni, and Władysław Frasyniuk, as part of the "Nevertheless, Culture" project.
-
Thousands of other actions – We help in hundreds of cases, often quietly and respectfully, honoring the privacy of those in need.
Is it a lot or a little?
We leave that question to you.
We're starting 2025 with even more energy and our guiding mottos:
"Can’t be done? Just watch."
"We do our thing."
Thank you for being with us – together, we can do even more!
What do we do?
Help Centre Belgium as a humanitarian organisation activates in crisis situations such as pandemics, lockdowns, floods, or wars.
In the meantime we carry out project aimed at empowering the Polish community in Belgium: Wiadomo.be, Mimo Wszystko Kultura, Centrum Wszechświata, or Polska Biblioteka w Belgii.
We have filled the space of our organisation’s building with books as part of the “Polish Library in Belgium” project. It is a collection of over 10,000 books in the Polish language.
We are the first Polish online media for the Polonia community with our own television studio and original program “Nie dzielę w Niedzielę” (Undivided Sunday)
Culture, especially its promotion, is one of our primary activities at the Centrum Wszechświata (Centre of the Universe). It’s a place uniquely designed for author’s evenings, mini-concerts, and cinema events.
This is our place on Earth, the building of the Help Centre Belgium Volunteerism. It is a multifunctional space combining an internet TV studio, the organisation’s office, a library, but most importantly, the main hall for volunteers.
How was the Help Centre Belgium formed?
Our organisation was founded on March 18, 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown in Belgium. As a group of friends, we started helping in Belgium providing assistance to those in need and the homeless. Since then, we have built a tremendous community of volunteers in Belgium.
Today, we are a Belgian non-governmental organisation operating in various fields: humanitarian, cultural, educational and media-related. And most importantly, in the field of integration between Poles and Belgians, as well as within the Polish community in Belgium.
Get to know our history.
We have collaborated so far with:
Since 2020, through our volunteer work, we have collaborated with numerous institutions in both Belgium and Poland – governmental and non-governmental alike. However, it is the connection with private individuals that has always remained most important to us.
Relief actions for the homeless during the pandemic, support during the floods in Belgium, humanitarian aid during the war in Ukraine, and the community’s engagement during the floods in Poland in 2024 – each of these moments revealed the immense compassion, solidarity, and willingness to help within our society.
Since 2022, we have also been the organizers of a unique event – Polish Day in Brussels – which has been growing every year in both scope and attendance. The 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions demonstrated the strength and unity of the Polish community abroad. Preparations are already underway for the 2025 edition, which – thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology and international cooperation – is set to become the most spectacular event promoting Poland in Europe.
We invite you to visit the Gallery of the Friends of the Brigade – a space where we express our gratitude to all those who have stood by us. It’s also a place that proves how much we can achieve together.
