Giving time

There is a family in need. There is a person thrown completely off course in life. And what do we do? Do we look? Or, even better: do we do something about it? Yes, we do something – as part of the VIG Social Active Day.

Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein started this initiative in 2011, right in the middle of the financial and economic crisis, and it quickly became a success. This is how the initiative works: employees who want to become involved with a good cause or charitable organisation are generally allowed to spend one working day of their time on such activities. The number of VIG companies taking part in the Social Active Day has increased steadily since the initiative was launched. Employees in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Montenegro, for example, gave their time to good causes for the first time in 2014. This means that 41 Group companies in 22 countries are now participating. A total of 4,150 working days was donated. Or, expressed another way, VIG assumed a financial expense equal to the annual working time of around 19 full-time employees.

VIG employees gave their time to a wide range of projects and charitable organisations that also differed greatly across regions. This was confirmed by Barbara Grötschnig, who is responsible for coordinating the Social Active Day: “It is impressive to see how many of our colleagues donate their time for good causes and how creative they are. I am especially happy about the steady growth of the Social Active Day and how it could develop its own internal momentum.” The following stops on a tour through VIG’s markets – a very encouraging trip – shows how broad the range of activities truly is.

Child support and development

A number of VIG companies used the Social Active Day to help with child development in 2014. Hungary provides a good example. Around 120 employees from our VIG companies Union Biztosító and Erste Biztosító worked hard to put Bátor Tábor, a holiday camp for chronically ill children, back into shape. Fences and walls were painted, modern cloakrooms installed and many finishing touches were added to get the camp ready for use in the summer. This was all done so that children and their families could enjoy their stay to the fullest.

Award for social involvement

Helping women and children in emergency situations was the goal chosen by our VIG company PSLSP in Slovakia. Support was provided to “Back to Life”, a crisis centre that helps women, children and youth who are victims of violence find their way back to a normal life. A financial training programme was also developed for orphans and young adults that provides basic information on how to manage money and provide for the future. To provide extra motivation, PSLSP doubled the savings of participants up to an amount of EUR 100. In 2014, PSLSP and its employees received special recognition for their social involvement. They were nominated for the most important CSR prize in the country, Via Bona Slovakia, and received first prize in the “Support for Volunteer Work” category.

In Turkey, the Ray Sigorta team gave their help to S¸ehit Üstteg˘men Ali Büyük Dicle, a state school for children with special needs. With help from experts and teachers, a day with a wide range of activities was arranged for the children. As an exciting special bonus, a trip was made to the Ray Sigorta headquarters.

In Montenegro, Wiener Städtische Osiguranje took part in the Social Active Day for the first time. The Radojica Perovic primary school in the capital city of Podgorica was chosen and our employees took part in a very special project. The students prepared plans for a garden and help was provided for buying and planting around 30 trees.

Our Polish VIG companies Benefia and InterRisk focused on improving traffic safety for children in 2014. In addition to working to raise awareness, around 1,800 reflective armbands were distributed in schools and kindergartens as part of the Social Active Day.

Helping people in need

This was the goal of more than 160 Donau Versicherung employees in Austria. They provided assistance to around 30 organisations – ranging from garden design for a social residence to collecting donations for flood victims in the Balkans.

Our VIG company Compensa Life cooperated in a project with the highly respected Estonian Food Bank in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. Its employees worked hard and put together around 220 food packages for people in need. The food was delivered by social and charitable organisations that work together with the Estonian Food Bank.

Our Bulgarian employees also helped to supply food to people in need in a number of cities in the country. In total, close to 1,200 kg of food was collected, sorted and distributed to those in need in seven Bulgarian cities.

Helping Paws

Pomocné tlapky (Helping Paws) was one of the organisations to receive support from our company Kooperativa in the Czech Republic. The organisation trains assistance dogs to help physically disabled people handle situations they could not manage on their own and be a reliable partner in their day-to-day life.

Environmental action in Macedonia

Raising awareness of the need for environmental protection and resource conservation was the focus of the Social Active Day in Macedonia in 2014. VIG employees in Struga, a town on Lake Ohrid that is a protected UNESCO site, provided information on how to properly dispose of plastic waste. An incentive was also provided to motivate people to take personal responsibility for a clean environment: a small reward that those participating in the action could collect at the local VIG company Winner Non-Life for proper disposal of their plastic waste at the recycling centre.