Volunteering Programmes
Employees in the Foundation’s Grant Programme
Employees are represented in the regional committees responsible for evaluation of projects submitted by non-governmental organizations. Together with external experts, they select winning projects that receive the O2 Foundation’s grant. A member of a regional committee dedicates on average 75 hours of their leisure time to the foundation during the grant evaluation process. In total 26 Telefónica employees are members of the regional committees.
O2 Volunteer of the Year
This award may be awarded to employees who dedicate their leisure time to a non-governmental organization. This way, O2 Foundation wishes to recognize all active volunteers. Since 2008, 46 employees of Telefónica have already received O2 Foundation’s grants worth almost CZK 1 million for the non-profit organizations they are working with.
Employee Collections
O2 Foundation organizes regular collections among Telefónica employees. Employees can make contributions to Safety Line and Senior Helpline by deductions from their regular wages payments. O2 Foundation will double these contributions. Besides, they can also help needy people by buying them indispensable aids.
In January 2010, a special collection to relieve victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti was organized. 1,500 employees contributed in total CZK 550,000 and this amount was doubled by Telefónica. The Czech humanitarian organization People in Need received over CZK 1.1 million for help in the affected area.
In 2009, a special collection helped relieve victims of floods that had affected the Czech Republic. One thousand employees contributed almost half a million CZK, this amount was also doubled by Telefónica. The money helped people of the village of Životice.
A charitable intranet auction was held in 2007. Employees auctioned off prizes worth CZK 85,000, O2 Foundation doubled this amount and CZK 170,000 was credited to the account of Safety Line.
Sheltered Workshops Selling Their Products
O2 Foundation organizes “fairs” where sheltered workshops can sell their products to Telefónica employees before Christmas and Easter. This way, i.e. by buying products of handicapped people, employees of the company support their employment. Since 2006 when the sheltered workshops started to sell their products at the company’s events, O2 employees have already paid CZK 1,658 million for the purchased products.
Volunteering at Off-Site Meetings
O2 Foundation launched a project advocating volunteering at off-site meetings of individual departments of Telefónica in 2007. Instead of standard teambuilding activities, employees work for a selected non-profit organization helping it with various tasks that need to be done. The first off-site of this kind was held in Ledovec NGO in Ledce u Plzně, where about 60 employees of quality and facility administration departments came to help.
Up until today there have been 11 off-sites for a good cause and 265 employees have given their helping hand to 5 non-government organizations.
Partnership with Children’s Homes
How about visiting a ZOO with the children? Running in a forest with them? Playing football? For children in children’s homes, these moments are more precious gifts than new balls or soft toys. Simply said, money may not always be the most valuable present. Time and interest of adult people is what children in children’s homes need most. And we are trying to make this happen by partnering with four children’s homes – in Klánovice, Pyšely u Benešova, Brno and Frýdek Místek.
During the year, employees spend their leisure time with the children and prepare sports and fun weekends, trips and other events for them. Every year about 150 employees take part in this activity.
