Blog

While New Year’s resolutions often start to fade by February, our monthly initiative to support open-source and non-profit projects has remained a constant for years.

This edition is special: for the eighth time, the projects were selected by the person without whom the #SidnetDonations campaign wouldn’t exist. This month, we are supporting causes close to the heart of Michał Wojciechowski, the founder and CEO of Sidnet and Centuran, and the originator of our charitable initiative.

curl

Gothic architecture introduced the concept of the keystone—the central stone at the top of an arch, without which soaring cathedrals would collapse into a pile of rubble. Many in the IT industry believe that the command-line tool curl serves a similar function in modern software architecture.

Together with the libcurl library, it provides a seamless way to automate network communication in scripts and applications, making it easy to test APIs using the HTTP(S) protocol. The tool is so ubiquitous that API documentation often includes ready-to-use curl commands by default. It is also a standard component in the base versions of many operating systems.

The widespread use of curl—and the fact that it often serves as the interoperable “common denominator” between different environments—makes the keystone an ideal metaphor. This was humorously captured in a curl-themed parody of the famous xkcd comic:

“curl is one of the ‘unsung heroes’ of the tech world. This open-source project, developed over several decades by a small team, has become an indispensable tool in IT. The best proof of this is that curl comes pre-installed in major Linux distributions, as well as macOS and Windows.

In our team, we use curl across many projects—whether for automation within CI/CD pipelines or for API testing—and we occasionally use the libcurl library within the code of the web applications we build,” Michał explains.

Historically, one reason for curl’s high level of security was its bug bounty program. Recently, however, curl made global headlines for a more frustrating reason: a flood of mass-generated AI reports. These reports, the vast majority of which were completely baseless, overwhelmed the team to the point where they had to suspend the bounty program. While AI tools are successfully used to find and neutralize vulnerabilities, mass, unverified submissions (fitting the definition of so-called “AI slop”) can quickly paralyze a small development team.

Przystań Ocalenie (“Haven of Rescue”) Foundation

The sanctuary in Ćwiklice, run by the Przystań Ocalenie (“Haven of Rescue”) Foundation, is a far cry from the typical image of an animal shelter. The space has been meticulously adapted to the needs of nearly 500 residents, for whom this place is a true home. Here, the animals always come first.

The Haven provides shelter to a wide variety of species—from dogs and cats to chickens, donkeys, cows, and horses. The latter are particularly noteworthy; caring for large farm animals is a significantly greater challenge than looking after the smaller pets found in most shelters. The presence of large animals means the foundation must follow many of the same legal regulations as commercial farmers, requiring the space to meet strict administrative and sanitary requirements for each species.

“The Przystań Ocalenie Foundation was the very first recipient of our support, which shows they’ve been around even longer than our donation initiative,” Michał recalls. “At the time, my father recommended the organization to me as a trustworthy cause. He had met Mr. Dominik, one of the sanctuary’s founders, and was deeply impressed by his genuine care for forgotten and mistreated animals.”

“A poem titled ‘Prayer of a Horse in Transport,’ which I read on their website back then, moved me deeply. It still stays with me whenever I think of the sanctuary,” adds Michał.

Anyone who cares about animal welfare can also support Przystań Ocalenie. The foundation gratefully accepts many forms of help—from one-time donations and specific fundraisers to volunteering and social advocacy. The organization is also currently looking for land to expand its operations.

Since May 2012, we have made 166 contributions supporting the development of open‑source projects, as well as 170 donations to non‑profit organizations, including foundations, associations, hospices, and animal shelters. What makes these donations unique is that the beneficiaries are not chosen by an algorithm or the management board, but by members of our own team.

We open 2026 with the choices of Tadeusz Sośnierz, a software developer working on projects for Impel Business Solutions and other clients of our second brand, Centuran. The projects he selected—KDE and the Open Bicycle Workshop—may seem unrelated at first glance. What connects them is a shared philosophy: initiatives for people who dislike “black boxes” and prefer to understand, modify, and adapt their tools to their own needs—whether those tools are lines of code or a bicycle.

KDE

The open‑source ecosystem is driven by developer communities. Organized as non‑profit initiatives, they create software that is freely available to everyone. KDE is an international community behind one of the most widely recognized Linux desktop environments—Plasma—as well as more than 200 applications that serve as alternatives to commercial software.

Tools created by the KDE community are used by prestigious institutions such as NASA and CERN. From Mercedes electric vehicles, through the Steam Deck handheld console, to Chrome and Safari browsers and government agencies from Brazil to Ukraine, KDE software is trusted worldwide.

KDE recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, inviting its community to share experiences during a global event bridging the online and offline worlds. Over a quarter of a century, more than 7,000 developers have contributed to the organization. Projects powered by KDE tools include, among others, James Cameron’s Avatar film series and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy.

“As a young Linux enthusiast, I was fascinated by minimalist desktop environments that I largely built myself from components I had written on my own. Over time, however, I came to appreciate a system and environment that allows me to work with my computer instead of constantly working on the computer itself. KDE is at the forefront here—its Plasma desktop is unmatched on Linux. It’s flexible enough that I was able to transfer my workflow from window managers like i3 almost unchanged, while also being so polished and user‑friendly that it allowed friends who were ‘escaping’ Windows 11 to switch to Linux smoothly, with virtually no learning curve,” explains Tadeusz.

Open Bicycle Workshop

Founded in 2018, the Open Bicycle Workshop (Otwarty Warsztat Rowerowy) is a well‑known and highly valued place among Warsaw’s cycling community. Anyone can use the publicly available tools free of charge, or opt for paid servicing provided by experienced mechanics.

The true strength of this place lies in its philosophy. Replacing parts with new ones is a last resort here. The 3R principle—Ride, Repair, Recycle!—means that almost every cog, hub, or spoke is given a second life. The organization running the workshop, Mierz Wysoko (“Aim High”) Association, collects bicycles and parts in various technical conditions. Some are repaired and refurbished, while others are dismantled for components that can be reused in servicing or building new bikes. Repaired bicycles are donated to people in need or sold with a warranty, and the funds raised support the workshop’s statutory goals and ongoing activities.

“Last season, I visited the Open Bicycle Workshop many times—repairing and modifying my own bike, as well as helping others with theirs. I’m already looking forward to spring, not only for cycling weather, but also for the reopening of the Workshop,” says Tadeusz enthusiastically.

Cycling enthusiasts can support the Open Bicycle Workshop through one‑off or recurring donations. Those based in Warsaw can also follow Tadeusz’s example and get involved personally as a volunteer.

December is a busy time for animal shelters and welfare organizations—and not just because the need for help increases in winter or because people are more inclined to give. Right after the holidays, shelters also face a wave of “mistaken gifts”—cats and dogs that have been returned to shelters.

That’s why, for this month’s #SidnetDonations, we’re supporting the Kundellos Volunteer Association. The choice was made by Gabriela Walczyk—an experienced developer with expertise in both frontend and backend technologies. Every day, she ensures high code quality using the open‑source tool PHPStan, which is the second project to receive our December donation, following her decision.

PHPStan

PHPStan is a powerful tool that helps developers catch errors in their code before the application even runs. It works by combining smart rules with type analysis, making it easy to spot issues that might otherwise go unnoticed during testing. PHPStan supports gradual adoption—from basic code checks all the way to a high level of strictness. Tools like PHPStan have become standard in the modern PHP ecosystem and are essential for ensuring code stability, clarity, and, most importantly, safety.

In 2024, PHPStan released version 2.0, which adds a new, even higher level of code verification called Level 10, along with improved support for analyzing mixed types. The update also significantly boosts performance, reducing memory usage by up to 70%.

PHPStan is particularly effective in large‑scale projects built on highly dynamic CMSs such as Drupal, where it can be used to analyze entities and data types. But Drupal is just the beginning—PHPStan also offers plugins and extensions for popular frameworks like Symfony, Laravel, and Doctrine, making integration into a wide range of PHP projects seamless.

“In our daily work on code, we often rely on tools that help us maintain the quality, security, and consistency of our projects. One of them is PHPStan—an open‑source project that analyzes code and can catch errors before they reach production. PHPStan was created by Ondřej Mirtes and is supported by an active open‑source community that contributes through testing, fixes, and documentation. Thanks to this tool, we can build more stable and predictable applications, which directly improves the quality of the software we deliver,” explains Gabriela.

Kundellos Volunteer Association

The association unites volunteers in a non‑profit initiative with a primary goal: helping homeless dogs and cats. Their work spans a wide range of activities—from daily tasks like cleaning, grooming, and socializing animals, to participating in social and educational campaigns on adoption, animal rights, and overall animal welfare. The name Kundellos combines the Polish words “kundel” (mutt, a mixed‑breed dog) and “los” (fate or destiny), reflecting the association’s mission of giving homeless and abandoned animals a better fate. Working with animals, while deeply rewarding, can also be demanding and sometimes risky, as volunteers often encounter sick or aggressive animals. The fact that all this is done entirely on a voluntary basis makes it even more admirable.

“The Kundellos Association helps homeless and abused animals—providing treatment, facilitating adoptions, and educating about responsible care. It’s an organization that truly changes the lives of those who cannot ask for help themselves. For me, supporting them is also very personal—five months ago, thanks to Kundellos, a wonderful dog named Perełka (“Little Pearl”) came into my home, and I can’t imagine life without her. I know how much effort the volunteers at Kundellos put in to give other animals the same chance,” says Gabriela.

You can also support the Kundellos Association—whether financially, by giving your time and attention to the animals, offering foster homes, or donating needed supplies.

In November, we tend to spend more time indoors, often staring at screens instead of looking out the window. With Black Friday just around the corner, it’s a timely reminder to stay mindful of online privacy. That’s why this month, support from the #SidnetDonations initiative will go to the Panoptykon Foundation, a long‑standing advocate for protecting our data and digital freedoms.

This November, the open‑source and charitable projects we’re supporting were chosen by Michał, our TypeScript specialist, who regularly applies his expertise to innovative projects for our partner, EDGE NPD. It was only natural that the Zod library—a reliable tool for data validation in TypeScript—became the second beneficiary.

Zod

A modern library for data validation in JavaScript and TypeScript, built with application safety and consistency in mind. It enables the creation of precise data schemas that automatically verify whether the provided information matches the expected shape and type. Highly versatile, it can be used on both the backend and frontend. Thanks to its seamless integration with TypeScript, Zod ensures full alignment between code types and actual runtime data. Lightweight and flexible, it is widely adopted in modern web projects, from simple forms to complex APIs, maintaining consistent types across frontend and backend.

Over the past four years, the library’s popularity and recognition have skyrocketed. From nearly 3,000 stars on GitHub and 600,000 weekly downloads, it has grown to 37,000 stars and over 30 million downloads per week. The current, fourth version has resolved 90% of the key issues reported by the community.

“In all the projects I’ve worked on in recent years, TypeScript has been used extensively, and Zod has proven to be an ideal tool for defining object schemas and validating data. Its latest version, Zod 4, significantly improves performance, introduces a smaller, lightweight version as a separate package, and adds many long‑awaited features, including enhanced support for translating error messages, converting schemas to JSON, and defining recursive types,” explains Michał.

Panoptykon Foundation

An independent NGO that has been defending the right to privacy and freedom in the age of digital surveillance since 2009. Its mission is to raise awareness about how technologies, data, and algorithms shape our lives, and to advocate for greater transparency in how institutions, companies, and governments handle citizens’ information. The organization’s name is inspired by the philosophical concept of a prison designed so that inmates constantly feel observed, without ever seeing those who watch over them.

The foundation conducts research, provides education, and lobbies for legal reforms to curb abuses in digital surveillance. Through initiatives such as Digital Education Kit (Cyfrowa Wyprawka), which offers 22 lesson plans on new technologies, or reports on law enforcement access to data, Panoptykon combines expert knowledge with real‑world social impact. In its publication Artificial Intelligence: Non‑Fiction, the foundation examines how algorithms and AI systems affect society, individual rights, and the functioning of the state. Panoptykon has also addressed issues such as the surveillance of refugees and highlighted that Poland is one of the few countries where authorities have near‑unrestricted access to telecommunications data.

“The internet, which we as an industry help develop, largely relies on advertising, which involves collecting and processing user data. Supporting the Panoptykon Foundation, which works to protect privacy in the digital world, is my way of balancing my own contribution to this phenomenon,” explains Michał, justifying his choice of the foundation.

You too can support Panoptykon with an online donation.

The days may be getting shorter, and leaves may be falling from the trees, but somewhere in the world, opportunities for a brighter future are growing. This is thanks to open‑source and non‑profit organizations that will receive our support this October.

From programming education to support for children in need, these are the initiatives that caught the attention of Bartosz Tkacz, a Software Tester on the THG Ingenuity Cloud Services project. Find out why.

freeCodeCamp

A non‑profit educational organization and a true springboard for beginner programmers. freeCodeCamp offers free courses with certificates, preparing learners to work as Full Stack Developers, as well as developing related skills, such as data science, AI tools, and English. You can find the full list of courses on the project’s website, totaling over 3,000 hours of learning.

But courses are not all they offer—the creators also run a podcast and a 24/7 music stream ideal for coding focus. The music must be effective: in 2022 alone, the platform’s community spent a total of 8,000 years—yes, years—learning! Alumni of the courses now work at companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Sidnet 😉

„Starting a career in IT is one of the most challenging periods. At that stage, knowledge, skills, and a clear path are often lacking. Access to high‑quality, free courses can be a real turning point. It’s also a way to break the bottleneck caused by the high cost of paid training”, explains Bartosz.

Pociecha Foundation

Children from low‑income, vulnerable, or otherwise at‑risk families receive invaluable support from Pociecha Foundation. The name Pociecha in Polish can’t be fully translated—it means both “a child” and “to comfort or console,” reflecting the foundation’s mission. This public‑benefit organization operates through a network of community centers, providing children with a safe and welcoming space.

There, they find not only a warm meal—nearly 8,000 were distributed last year—but also opportunities to explore their interests, make friends, and spend time in a supportive, nurturing environment. Beyond managing the centers, the foundation organizes school supplies and summer trips for young people.

“Not every child is fortunate enough to grow up in a healthy, loving family. Children growing up in difficult environments face a tough start in life. That’s why it’s so important to provide them with support and opportunities to grow,” says Bartosz.

The foundation relies on the generosity of individuals and companies dedicated to children’s wellbeing. You can also support its projects by making a donation through the foundation’s website.

It just so happens that in September, with the start of the school year, we’re supporting open‑source and non‑profit projects that help tackle the challenges faced by school communities. In the age of digital gradebooks and educational platforms, sensitive student data can be protected through integration with tools like KeePassXC. Meanwhile, real‑world integration—building relationships and fully including children with disabilities in school and extracurricular life—is made possible thanks to the Podaruj Uśmiech (“Give a Smile”) Foundation.

Find out why Damian Bełza, a developer implementing help desk systems within our second brand, Centuran, chose to support these projects.

KeePassXC

Password security is crucial not only for IT professionals but for all of us, even if we don’t always realize it. KeePassXC is an open‑source password manager that allows users to securely store logins, passwords, notes, and other confidential information in an encrypted database (AES‑256 or Twofish). Its developers take security very seriously and respond to any situations that could affect users’ trust—even if they don’t directly concern KeePassXC. While the password manager can be synced with the cloud, the safest option remains running the application locally on your own device.

“I use KeePassXC not only for work but also to store my personal data. Working in IT and observing the fast pace of technological development has made me realize how crucial data security is—whether it’s company secrets or family photos,” explains Damian.

Podaruj Uśmiech (“Give a Smile”) Foundation

Living with a disability is especially challenging for children, and their families face many emotional, organizational, and financial obstacles. The Podaruj Uśmiech (“Give a Smile”) Foundation for Children with Disabilities supports children by funding surgeries, rehabilitation, equipment, and therapy, helping make daily life easier and bringing smiles back to their faces. The Foundation is also steadily building a Rehabilitation Center in Gdynia, providing a space for ongoing therapy, diagnostics, and comprehensive treatment at the highest available standards. It also incorporates dog therapy to support both physical and mental rehabilitation.

Beyond direct support for beneficiaries, the Foundation runs the CAZON project, which focuses on the professional activation of people with disabilities, who are still often discriminated against in the workplace.

“I have four children, and I know how challenging it is to raise them and provide everything they need. I can’t even imagine the effort parents of children with disabilities put in. Thanks to the Foundation’s financial support, necessary equipment and medications can reach exactly where they’re most needed, easing daily life and improving the quality of these children’s lives,” explains Damian, describing his choice.

The wide‑ranging activities of the Podaruj Uśmiech Foundation require significant financial resources. You can also contribute by making a donation via PayPal.