Webhelp Romania and their CSR story
Two years ago, when we started imagining what Webhelp Romania would be like in the next 5 years, we knew we wanted to change something in the communities we live in as well as in our company. There’s a strong correlation between a responsible citizen, a successful business and the economic growth of a local community. When brainstorming with our teams, we realized that we were all ready to dedicate ourselves to a giving back program, which could be a creative opportunity to fundamentally strengthen our business while contributing to social improvement at the same time.
This was the starting point for our donation initiative as we saw CSR as central to our overall people-first strategy.
One of the pillars of the Webhelp SHARED Foundation sustainable development plan is to support the communities in which it operates. Through this project and the partnership with Hope and Homes for Children, our company aims to improve the life of 15 young adults from different counties in Romania through education and employability.
The project is part of Hope and Homes for Children, a larger social integration program for young people leaving the state care system. These young people grew up without the love and support of a family, therefore standing fewer chances to acquire the skills necessary for an independent living and the education that would help them access the job market.
The direct beneficiaries of the 2018-2019 socio-professional integration project developed by Hope and Homes for Children with the support of Webhelp SHARED Foundation are 15 young adults who had, thus, the possibility to leave the state care/protection system, through:
- community services (social assistance agencies, employment agencies, medical services);
- psychological counseling (self-esteem, behavior, stress management, conflict management, positive attitude, couple relations);
- social counseling (social housing, social aids, shelters or transit centers);
- mediation, assistance, counseling in order to identify and access a stable job;
- assistance and counseling for keeping the job; mediating the relationship with employers and work colleagues;
- financial education;
- initiating or strengthening the relationship with the original family;
- financial support: payment of travel expenses from home to work, payment for training courses, technical assistance offered to social inclusion services.
Many companies care about corporate social responsibility (CSR). But implementing it requires more than PR speeches and company policies. All team members must be committed so that initiatives can be achieved and momentum for CSR can be sustained.
We consider ourselves a very fortunate managing team as we pride on highly engaged colleagues who share their passion for sustainability and get actively involved in our CSR programs. Our people are triggering life-changing initiatives that contribute to the success of our local communities.
One relevant example would be the donation our team decided to make last year. The budget allocated for our office Christmas party was used for a good cause — we rebuilt the house destroyed by a fire for a family with 8 children. They will no longer risk being placed in a residential center as the family will be able to move into this new facility by the end of the year.
The program started in 2018 and has continued in 2019 as well. This is just the beginning, but the first results are already visible as Paul and Felix, the twins that benefited from the 6-month socio-professional integration programs supported by our company, are now in control of their lives and can dream of a better future. They will be able to do amazing things and we’re happy it only took one team to care enough to make a difference.