VIRTUS award for 2018
The leading award for contribution at the national level
Banca Intesa JSC Belgrade for comprehensive support to the community implemented through numerous initiatives and projects, with a special focus on the series of educational seminars Risk? ? It Is a Women’s Job intended for entrepreneurs, business owners, directors of social enterprises and startup companies throughout Serbia. These seminars, held during the Savings Week, in addition to knowledge in the field of smart investing, provided the gathered participants with advice for overcoming stressful and risky situations they face in the private sphere of life. In addition, as part of the corporate volunteering program of Intesa from the Heart, employees donated as many as 2,145 volunteer hours to the community, and during the previous year, the bank continued to support the implementation of projects in the field of culture, preservation of cultural heritage and education, initiatives of social importance and the development of amateur and professional sports.
. Award for contribution to the local community where the company operates
CRH (Serbia) Ltd. Popovac for the program of support for local initiatives in the field of sustainable development, culture, sports and education Partnership for the Future, which are implemented in the territory of the municipality of Paraćin. During the previous year, the company also supported the reconstruction of the Izvor home department and the daycare centre for children and youth with developmental disabilities in Paraćin, implemented a program of psychosocial support for children from the endangered enclaves of the Friendship School on Tara, and organized free transportation for elementary school students from neighbouring villages throughout the school year.
Award for Small and Medium Enterprises
Bosis d.o.o., a family business from Valjevo, for supporting the Petnica Research Station and the National Day of Giving, as well as supporting numerous institutions and civil society organizations in the local community. During the previous year, Bosis donated more than 10,000 euros to the Department of Gynecology and the Maternity Hospital in Valjevo and to the activities of several associations in the field of preserving the culture and traditions of the Valjevo region.
Award for a long-term partnership between business and non-profit sector – Telenor
Philip Morris Operations JSC Niš for an eleven-year partnership with the Centre for Leadership Development from Belgrade in the implementation of the Move for the Future and Move for Science programs. During the ten years of the Get Started for the Future program, scholarships were awarded, projects of importance for the local community were implemented, and young people were trained in entrepreneurship. Since its inception in 2015, the Start for Science program has been aimed at improving science in Serbia through investments in scientific research in the field of biomedical and natural sciences and improving the conditions in which scientists work by purchasing equipment and adapting laboratories.
Award for individual contribution to philanthropy
Milomir Glavčić, a retiree who has lived in Canada for many years, has been helping those who need help in Serbia for seven decades. . Over the years, he donated more than 7 million euros and organized his extended family to deliver donations in Serbia on his behalf. Last year alone, Milomir donated medical equipment to the Studenica General Hospital in Kraljevo with an approximate value of over 300,000 euros. He also helped build a kindergarten in Kraljevo, which was named Milomir and was officially opened on Milomir’s 94th birthday in December last year.
. Special award for assistance to the population in rural areas
Since 2012, Filip Filipović has been helping the most vulnerable residents of remote villages around Kuršumlijska Banja by donating money, food, medicine, toys and school supplies. He helped with the house adaptations, the renovation of the biology cabinet in the grammar school in Kuršumlija, and distributed packages of food and hygiene products and New Year’s packages for children from the money he had saved himself. . Thanks to Filip, eleven of the most vulnerable families received three-month financial assistance for the purchase of necessities in local stores, and on his initiative, free van transportation was provided once a week for the residents of Kuršumlija Banja to Kuršumlija in order to perform their daily duties. He also donates his time to the vulnerable – he helps with household chores and repairs, and he advises his fellow citizens on how they can exercise their rights in the field of health care, social assistance or administrative services.
Special award for intergenerational connection
Since 2017, Mario Milaković from Belgrade has been investing his time and energy in the implementation of the Super Bake program. Super Bake consists of retired women who socialize with each other through organized activities of preparing homemade cakes and thus get out of senior social isolation. By selling cakes at local events, they generate additional income for their modest pensions. Thanks to Mario’s involvement during the online crowdfunding campaign, funds were collected for the basic equipment of the cake-making workshop used by Super Bake. Products from the Super Baka workshop are becoming more and more popular, as evidenced by the fact that more than 200,000 people visited the events in which they participated last year alone, and on that occasion, around 2,000 portions of homemade cakes were sold.
Special award for contribution to the endowment
Ljubinka Vivčar from Belgrade has been dedicated to caring for animals all her life, volunteering to take care of abandoned animals, despite the fact that she lived very modestly. Ljubinka bequeathed her entire property to the ORCA organization in her will: a 35m2 apartment in Belgrade, which ORCA turned into a student dormitory for the protection of animals and nature. During their studies, two female students will find their home there through a public invitation, of which the organization’s wish is that at least one of them be a child without parental care. Funds for the renovation of the apartment were provided by the organization through a crowdfunding campaign via the Internet.
Special award for a young philanthropist
Stefan Nikolić, a young philanthropist from Vršac, organized three events called Humanitarian Coffee in Vršac and Novi Sad in 2018. Charity coffee is a one-day event during which the entire network of catering establishments renounces the profit made by selling coffee for humanitarian purposes. . In the past year, 500,000 dinars were collected in this way, and the collected money was donated to the National Association of Parents of Children with Cancer – NURDOR.