Volunteering as inspiration
The Via Pontica Foundation has always supported active civic initiatives that promote environmental protection and the building of a more sustainable community. Today we share with you the example of Ms Mina Mitich – a young person with a big heart who showed that individual contribution matters.
On 19 September 2025 Mina cleaned up the area around her block of flats in the Lazur district of Burgas. Over several hours she collected two full bags of waste — tickets, cigarette butts, cans, plastic bags, food and cosmetics packaging, even car parts and discarded shoes.
“The more I cleaned, the more rubbish came to light. I did my best to make the space in front of our building spotless, and the area around several neighbouring buildings too,” Mina wrote in a letter to the foundation.
Besides the satisfaction of a job done, the clean-up also brought her the pleasure of talking with neighbours about protecting the environment. In this way a small initiative becomes an occasion for conversation and for bringing people together around a common cause.
“I am glad that I both got some exercise and contributed to a cleaner, more beautiful environment for my neighbours, to cleaner nature for us and for the animals that share our spaces,” she adds.
The Via Pontica Foundation thanks Ms Mina Mitich for her enthusiasm and personal example. Actions of this kind are fully in keeping with our mission – to encourage the active involvement of citizens in protecting nature and in building a healthier, cleaner and more beautiful environment for everyone.
Below are some of the photographs Mina shared with us.
