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Christmas time makes us more compassionate and willing to share and care for others. In Sidnet, we grew this custom of regularly helping people in need and supporting open-source projects. We are happy to see our workmates being part of this unique tradition every month. December is no exception here, and together with Jakub Wysocki, our Full-Stack Developer, we will contribute to the ESLint project and a fundraiser for Ukraine.

ESLint

ESLint is a static code analysis tool that fixes various programming or syntax errors in JavaScript and JSX code in the early stage of development work. However, its usability goes beyond the standard features of similar software. Hence, this handy plugin quickly became a toolbox staple of our Full-Stack Developer.

“The rules in ESLint are easy to configure, and custom ones can be defined and loaded from external sources. ESLint supports current ECMAScript standards and experimental syntax for future releases,” says Jakub.

ESLint is an open-source project. The maintenance and development of the tool depend mainly on the community and contributors. Along with Jakub, we join the crowd to support ESLint in the December issue of the #SidnetDonations initiative.

Fundraiser for Ukraine via Polish Center for National Aid

For the seventh time this year, we donate to a humanitarian organization that helps Ukrainians suffering from the war. It is the Polish Center for National Aid and its fundraiser for Ukraine, which we are joining in December.

“Winter is a challenging season. For that reason, the Ukrainian troops and citizens will need consistent support during that time. Also, having Ukrainian workmates on the team makes our engagement personal and natural,” Jakub explains his choice.

The funds raised by the organization will be spent on medical equipment and supplies for Ukrainian hospitals, humanitarian aid in the warzone, and education and support for children who took refuge in Poland from the war.

The common theme of our monthly charity action is animals – cats, dogs, and … Thunderbird. While dogs and cats accompany us in real life, Thunderbird is a legendary bird from American folklore that has become the logo of a popular mail client. The initiatives we will be happy to support this month were chosen by Patryk Urbański, a React Frontend Developer in our team.

Thunderbird

Presumably, there is no single person in the IT world, who hasn’t heard of Thunderbird. It is a popular, free email and calendaring client known for its performance and high customizability for every work style and manner.  Thunderbird prioritizes users’ security, hence the number of built-in features, such as support for the ‘Do Not Track’ header, spam and remote content blocking, and phishing protection. 

Our developers, including Patryk, value this email client. “I use Thunderbird every day, and I appreciate how it boosts my work. That is why I would like to support it to keep it free and available to everyone”.

Like many other open-source projects, Thunderbirds remains independent and grows thanks to its users, who support it with know-how and donations.  

Rasowy Kundel Foundation fundraiser for the National Fund for the Homelessness Prevention of Cats and Dogs

Homelessness among dogs and cats is a huge problem caused mainly by pet owners’ irresponsibility and lack of knowledge. Rasowy Kundel Foundation, which can be translated as Pedigree Mutt Foundation, aims to prevent pet homelessness by raising funds for the second time on behalf ofthe National Fund for the Homelessness Prevention of Cats and Dogs. 

“This fundraiser helps prevent the suffering and misery of polish stray cats and dogs. Each day brings new fundraisers for all the abandoned and hurt animals.  The Fund aims to avert pet homelessness, including education, instead of just fixing the damage.” sums up Patryk.

The goal of the fundraiser is to collect one million zlotys. It will cover the costs of neutering and microchip implants for 2500 pets. The collected money will also support an educational program on pet homelessness, its causes, and prevention.

When life gets hectic, one can miss that it has already been halfway through the month. Some mundane tasks got checked off the to-do list, and more are queueing to settle. But for us, mid-month is a particular time as it marks another edition of our charity support initiative. In October, we are making a double donation with the help of our IT Project Manager, Bartłomiej Kłak.

Fundraising for Ukraine, via Vita History Foundation

Since the chances for the war in Ukraine to end are slim, further ongoing help is indispensable. Many foundations continually support the Ukrainian refugees in Poland and those who have not left the country despite the war. “Many Ukrainian citizens chose to stay home, and due to the incoming winter, any help is necessary. Vita History Foundation distributes food and other goods to people staying in the war-inflicted country. Easy access to food is something we take for granted, but in war zones, it is increasingly difficult to get,” Bartek explains.

The Vita History Foundation has halted its usual operations to join many other foundations supporting Ukraine in this humanitarian effort. Since February 24th, rather than planning cultural events, the charity has used its logistic resources to reach out with assistance to those in need in the war-torn country. Everyone can also participate by donating money or the essentials listed on the Foundation’s website.

If you’re wondering how to volunteer or get involved without taking your hands off the keyboard, here are some examples. You could be building a web application for people in debt, helping them settle and pay off on preferential terms, or develop a registration system for the charity event Onkobieg. These are some of the projects that our React Developer, Łukasz Kozłowski, has been working on.

We provide Łukasz with the opportunity to help and ask him to pick projects for the #SidnetDonations initiative in September. By his choice, we will support Xmonad project and Open Cages association in Poland.

XMonad

XMonad is a tiling window manager compatible with any computer operating system. XMonad dynamically and automatically organizes app windows across the screen for easy work and content access. It also provides keyboard support, making workflows smoother without using a mouse.

From the developer’s point of view, quick and easy access to multiple open windows is a huge perk. “I would like to contribute to the Xmonad project, as I use it daily, at work and home. I got my work done in no time, and my wrist pain went away when I fully switched to the keyboard and ditched the mouse thanks to the keyboard support feature” sums up Łukasz.

Open Cages association

We frequently support animal shelters and advocacy organizations in our monthly charity action. September is no exception, and thanks to Łukasz, we support the Open Cages association, which has been making efforts to improve the lives of farm animals in Poland for ten years now.

The organization aims to change the ways farm animals are treated and reduce the environmental impact of industrial livestock farming.

“It is a major cause of the looming climate disaster. The behaviors deeply ingrained in our system cause the most damage to the environment” explains Łukasz. “They include the massive amounts of water used to produce fodder, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and forest clearing to make room for forage production and animal grazing. Not to mention the startling amount of misery that comes with it for 70 billion farm animals and more than a trillion fish.”

Mass farming has an unfathomable negative influence on the environment, which is why systemic improvements would be the most effective. The Open Cages organization came to the same conclusion “This is why I wanted to support it” says Łukasz.” To reach and alleviate the suffering animals, the Open Cages organization executes the idea of effective altruism at the source of the issue.”

As Open Cages is an NGO, every animal lover can support the organization by volunteering, fundraising, or donating. 

These days one can both work far-off and help effectively while being miles away too. Our Frontend Developer, Grzegorz Marszałek, plays it like a pro. Per Grzegorz’s request, this month we double-support the fundraising for Ukraine held by ZARYS Foundation.

“I would like to aid the ZARYS Foundation in their fundraiser for Ukraine. When the news about the war broke, no one could genuinely believe it. We held our fingers crossed for a fast resolution of the conflict. But despite our wishes, the war rages on, threatening the life of the Ukrainian people,” Grzegorz explains.

It has been six months since the war in Ukraine started. Still, every kind of support is appreciated, especially the medical equipment and supplies for the community hospitals and clinics. ZARYS Foundation provides such help, which we support with a double-donation in August.

“The Foundation consults the Ukrainian Ministry of Health to kit out the hospitals operating in Ukraine. It seems apparent that as long as the battles carry on, such help will be indispensable,” sums up Grzegorz. “My contribution to support this fundraiser has also a personal aspect, as two members of my project team live in Ukraine”.

ZARYS Foundation owns the largest warehouse of disposable medical equipment in Central Europe. This perk helps the Foundation to provide and ship the necessary supplies directly to the war zone and also to raise money to ensure continuous delivery. The Foundation operates worldwide, hence it is possible for the contributors to voluntarily support the cause in any currency they find convenient.

In July, we support initiatives that share the same founding principle of unrestricted access—either to source code or to information. This month it is Marcin Szałabski who chooses both the non‑profit and open‑source projects. Marcin is working as a Java Developer in a project for a global e‑commerce company, THG. This is the first time he chooses the projects for #SidnetDonations.

What open‑source and non‑profit projects does Marcin want us to support?

SponsorBlock

SponsorBlock gives users easy access to YouTube content that is free from embedded sponsor segments.

“It is a browser plugin that allows skipping the sponsor spots, intros, and other sponsored breaks in the videos. It compliments the AdBlock extension, which halts the native YT commercials. When used simultaneously, they provide an uninterrupted viewing experience,” Marcin explains.

As an open‑source project, SponsorBlock keeps developing thanks to its community. The users submit sponsor spots to skip. The voted pieces are stored in the extension database, which counts almost 5 million skip segments. They feed the algorithm and train it to improve its accuracy when blocking out unwanted sponsored content. This way users enjoy their favorite videos without commercial breaks.

Kultura Liberalna (Liberal Culture)

Liberal Culture is a non‑profit project brought to life by and for the community of citizens.

“It is an NGO media organization that receives independent funding and is unaffected by politicians. The community warrants its objectivity, merits, and factualism. Liberal Culture focuses on political issues in Poland, minority and women’s rights, and climate change problems. It also promotes democratic and liberal values,” clarifies our developer.

The Liberal Culture weekly journal is available online, but contrary to similar sources, all its content is paywall‑free. Anyone interested in the centric and liberal point of view presented there can easily reach the LC’s vast base of articles, podcasts, and interviews.

Besides the online activity, the Liberal Culture organization publishes books on current politics and culture and organizes events, seminars, and debates.