Beyond business: nurturing community connections through CSR initiatives

Embracing the ethos of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), businesses play a vital role in building connections and fostering community partnerships. Integral to this effort, CSR initiatives become catalysts for positive change and meaningful connections. Let’s see how the Primient Łódź team’s dedicated commitment is contributing to a more sustainable future.

This past year Primient’s Łódź team celebrated a number of ‘first’ milestones, including the ribbon-cutting of beautiful new office in the heart of the city, and their first holiday season as a #PrimientProud team.

While the year centered on ensuring business priorities, ways of working, and systems were fully in place, just as important to the team was connecting with and supporting key initiatives which help to build connection and community partnership across our teams and out in the community.

Giving back is part of who we are

Community outreach – charitable giving and volunteer service – is not new to Primient or its people. Across the company’s 100+ year history, first as A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, we have provided a mix of corporate and employee-led support in the communities we call home.

Team members are encouraged to regularly give back – sharing their time, talent, or resources – to help drive positive and lasting change around three key areas of focus:

• Fuller Plates for All: Ensuring access and availability of food for every table.
• Learning for Life: Supporting students towards safer, healthier, and more stable lives for a lifetime.
• A More Sustainable Future: Continuously improving our practices and processes towards a brighter future.

At the heart of our community practice and planning is our Charity Team – together they brainstorm and plan the actions and organizations we support each year.

– Helping others is what brings us together – says Paulina Sajdak, Charity Team Lead, Senior Accountant, Primient. – This year, as we celebrated our new office in Łódź and our first holiday season as a team, we have also strengthened our tradition of community support. From our early days to now, we have always believed in making a difference. Every meal we help put on a table, every student we support, and every step we take towards a more sustainable planet adds up. Our Charity Team is at the core of this mission, guiding us to make real changes that matter.

Creativity, collaboration, and fun always in the mix

For our inaugural charity project as Primient, the Łódź Charity Team, dreamed big with the idea of a “Dream Auction” which highlighted the best our team had to offer.

A dream come true –the dream auction

The idea behind the event was simple: the Charity Team identified employees with exceptional talents and passions who could make someone else’s dreams come true through sharing their talents or hobbies. Requests to support the idea were published in the team’s local internal newsletter. The response was amazing! It turned out that anything could be someone’s dream, and everyone had something valuable to offer.

Proposals for auction items ranged from tennis lessons and handcrafted macramé to lunch with the management team, drinks with the IT department, coffee with HR, handmade jewelry, and even a professional photo shoot of an employee’s car. The team gathered twenty -three dream submissions in all.

The auction itself was filled with enthusiasm and charisma, encouraging spirited competition among colleagues, friends, and family members. The auction atmosphere brought excitement, with bids and interest surpassing the expectations of both the organizers and the dream providers; no one expected that their talents would be so valued!

This team’s generosity and dedication contributed to achieving incredible results. – I couldn’t believe how excited everyone was about my crochet workshop – shares Karolina Wasiak, Team Leader, Primient, who offered her talent for crochet in the Dream Auction. – Using my hobby to help others was so rewarding, and it was a fun way to connect with colleagues I don’t usually work with. Her three-hour crochet lessons were auctioned for 200 PLN, while the starting bid was 50 PLN. Karolina’s talent was just one example of how our team recognized and valued our exceptional colleagues!

At the auction close, we were able to support dreams inside and outside of the company! On the donation-side, we provided 2,300 PLN to the Dom w Łodzi (Home in Łódź) Foundation. The Foundation operates the Children’s Home for Sick Children, a safe and nurturing place for severely ill, disabled, and abandoned children who had been living in hospital wards, hospices, or social care home.

With our auction proceeds, we purchased: a desk for a first grader, a fuel card to ensure the children could easily travel for medical appointments, and to the hospital, a supply of food, and necessary medications. Our cooperation is still ongoing. In October, we also supported a charity dinner for children as volunteers.

Giving gift of hope and support – Szlachetna Paczka

With a successful initial action completed, the focus turned to the holiday season. The Charity Team chose to support the Szlachetna Paczka or Noble Gift action, supporting a local family with essential items and gifts for Christmas.

This year, we supported Ms. Karolina, a 33-year-old single parent, Kacper, a 9-year-old with a passion for LEGO Technic, which he pursues despite having a motor disability in his hands, 2-year-old Kajetan, and a 13-year-old ailing dog at home.

This annual campaign is a favorite of the local team because they personally shop, wrap, deliver, and connect directly with families and individuals, helping to make their Christmas and New Year celebrations a little bit brighter. – The finale of our campaign took place just before the holidays. The gifts were passed to the warehouse volunteers who care for Ms. Karolina’s family. We made a beautiful and joyful Christmas for Ms. Karolina – Paulina describes. – Delivering the Szlachetna Paczka gifts is always a highlight of our year. It is a touching moment when we can bring joy and hope directly to a family’s doorstep.

In addition to the Szlachetna Paczka outreach, the team provided holiday cheer to a Home in Łódź Foundation – purchasing theatre vouchers as well as classes for a disabled child to participate in Therapeutical Climbing, which provides active physical development in ways that build skills of concentration, focus, body awareness, eye-hand coordination, and of course, fun.

We were so pleased to recently receive photos from the climbing classes and how our donation made a difference. Our entire team was moved to see how hard work pays off and how much joy and smiles we bring to others.

Building a compassionate community together

While our Charity Team’s actions raised much needed donations and awareness for local community members, charitable partners and programs, the value and experience extended far beyond simply giving back.

We also grew closer as team members, reminding us that we are not just colleagues, but a powerful and compassionate community who can make a personal difference in meaningful ways with actions of generosity and support big and small!

– We try to involve the entire team in our initiatives, like when we packed gifts for the Szlachetna Paczka. We listen to our employees and their ideas for new ways to provide help. We are already planning the next actions in which we can engage and share our support. Whether it is bringing a smile to children in need or caring for animals in local shelters, every act of kindness reinforces our commitment to the community and our work together – concluded Paulina.

Author: Jennifer Walker, Director, Global Community Relations, Primient

This article comes from magazine:
FOCUS ON Business #15 March-April (2/2024)