VIRTUS award for 2011
Erste bank JSC Novi Sad was awarded for its outstanding contribution in solving important social issues, support for talented young people and cooperation with marginalized groups. Erste Bank consistently implements corporate philanthropy through cooperation with civil society organizations. Programs such as Centrifuga – cultural decentralization through youth content, Club 27 – scholarships for talented young people, promotion and support for social inclusion, incentives for social entrepreneurship and mentoring work were assessed by the VIRTUS jury as comprehensive and extremely necessary for society.
The company Holcim Ltd. is extremely engaged in the life of the local community where it operates. During the previous year, the company cooperated with the organization OSI Paraćin on the Personal assistant project, with the organization Child Sight in the form of promoting social entrepreneurship for the unemployed, and helped the work of the Cultural Center Paraćin. The company Holcim is engaged in a large number of environmental protection projects.
Company Sunce Marinković Ltd was awarded for commitment to the education of employees and partners, providing equal opportunities to all employees, demonstrated interest in energy efficiency and involvement in solving problems in the community. Energy programs (energy efficiency), Equal Opportunities for All (employment of people with disabilities), employment of people over 50 years of age, support for the Kragujevac Children’s Home, aid to churches and monasteries, aid to the construction of the Pivara municipality, are some of the activities that the company carries out for the benefit of the community.
The company Telenor Ltd was awarded for its long-term cooperation with UNICEF, especially in the framework of the Connecting program. The program was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, and as part of it, Roma health mediators were provided with training in the field of health and social protection in order to provide better assistance and education to Roma communities.
Food for Enclaves is part of the Food for All program, an action to help the most vulnerable residents of Serbian enclaves in Kosovo who live below the poverty line, through the collection and distribution of funds and food to existing soup kitchens that work under the auspices of the Mother of Nine Jugovic Foundation.
The corporate volunteering program was started in 2008. . Today, Erste Bank has a Club of Erste Bank volunteers, which in the previous year implemented several important actions – a volunteer action in Pančevo, landscaping of the City Garden in Sremski Karlovci, an excursion for Roma children from the settlement of Adice, helping students in entrepreneurship, an Erste action for Kraljevo.