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Making a difference together: voluntary work in 2024
Charity marathon
In May the 19th inter-company race took place in Paris, in partnership with Special Olympics. The aim of this marathon is to change the way society looks at disability. A few of our French colleagues participated in the competition and won the gold medal in the mixed category. It was a great teambuilding activity that wasn’t only beneficial for our colleague’s health but also supports an important social message.
Children’s Temporary Home
The Children’s Temporary Home is a place in Hungary that provides temporary help to children between 3 and 18 years old who are in a difficult situation. Our colleagues in Hungary collected money to support the children’s summer holidays so they could enjoy carefree quality time together.
This was already the second time Purmo Hungary made an effort for this cause as they supported them in 2023 as well to help make the children’s Christmas dreams come true.
Beekeeping
Dorota Kieca-Lapinska, our Key Customer Specialist & Director Assistant in Walcz, is a part-time beekeeper. In 2021 she set up her own apiary, starting with 4 hives, and now Dorota takes care of 9 hives, located 50 km from Wałcze on Lake Pile in the village of Krągi. Bees have been accompanying her family for over 60 years. The family hobby had been started by her grandfather, who passed the love for bees on to the next generations. Dorota says: “I have always liked nature. I think it’s amazing and we can learn a lot from observing it. Working with bees teaches you humility and patience.”
Dorota is currently taking a course to become a professional beekeeper. Together with other beekeepers from her region she doesn’t limit herself to producing and selling honey. “We try to educate people and show that bees are an extremely important element of our environment. Without them, our world would cease to exist. Fortunately, more and more is being said about their role in pollinating plants and the impact they have on crops, but also about the health-promoting properties of bee products. As beekeepers we cooperate with local authorities, set up beehives in urban areas and create houses for wild bees.”
Cleaning the environment
In order to keep the environment of the plant in Ochtrup clean, the Operations team of Nicole Holzheimer, our plant manager in Ochtrup, had a rubbish collection. Didier Westphalen, Operations Director, joined the team for an 8 km walk, filling many blue bags with trash found in the industrial area in Ochtrup and the city area of the neighbouring village Langenhorst.
Helping the ecosystem
Ulrike Reiß, our colleague from the accounting department in Vienenburg, is the driving force behind a volunteering project that helps toads, frogs and newts to cross the street. These animals are precious for the ecosystem because, among other things, they keep insect pest populations in check and are essential in the food chain, both in water and on land. Due to their high vulnerability to pollution and environmental changes, they are also considered accurate indicators of environmental health and habitat quality.
What started as two women collecting amphibians from the road and carrying them to the other side of the street is now a local volunteering project involving more than 9 people who collect 1500 amphibians between middle of February and end of April on a stretch of road 2 km long. “When we started in 1999 there was little interest in and understanding for what we do, but thankfully that is different today. We now have support from our local district and can safely help the amphibians who are trying to reach the waters they were born in to lay their eggs. With both fixed and mobile fences, 35 buckets and a dedicated volunteer group, we save a considerable number of valuable animals every year.”
Plastic Free July Challenge
In July, Purmo Hungary joined the Plastic Free July Challenge to reduce plastic waste. They served tap water, which fortunately is of excellent quality in Moson, in glass bottles during meetings and they encouraged colleagues to use their own reusable bottle instead of disposable plastic bottles. On their Facebook and LinkedIn pages, they shared weekly tips and advice on how to be plastic-free. This information was shown on the plant's screens too.
The team’s enthusiasm proved contagious as many colleagues started using a water bottle or drinking a glass of tap water instead of bottled mineral water. By supporting and challenging each other, we can save thousands of plastic bottles each year.
Volunteering for Ukrainian dogs
Justyna Ficygowska from our Walcz plant, is doing voluntary work for a Ukrainian animal shelter called Shelter Friend. This is located in Dnipro, which is now relatively close to the front. She says: “Their situation nowadays is absolutely tragic and they need all kinds of help, ranging from money and meds to food. The shelter serves as a temporary home for about 900 dogs. Animals brought to Shelter Friend by Ukrainian soldiers are very often in life-threatening condition and they need urgent veterinarian help. Unfortunately animals are silent victims of this war.”
“Adoptions and foster homes play a vital role because it frees up a place for another dog which can be taken from the front and located in Shelter Friend where it gets veterinarian treatment and has a chance to find a home abroad. My role is to help out in the pre-adoption processes. Moreover I administrate our charity bazaar on Facebook. Sometimes I temporarily care for the dogs which come from Ukraine. I spent my 8 hours of volunteering on taking one of the recently transported dogs to the vet cardiologist, as she needed to have echocardiography”.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like more information about any of the volunteering projects mentioned above.