VANADOO IS A PLANNER OF CSR INITIATIVE FOR PROCTER & GAMBLE EVENT
This year VANADOO were fortunate in that we had the opportunity to be more than merely organisers of events, award evenings and gala’s/celebrations. We organised a CSR initiative for our client P&G. It was a memorable event and would like to share our experience with you. It may help you with ideas as to how you can enhance your events in Prague and Czech Republic with corporate social responsibility activities.
Our client approached us to organise a teambuilding event for his local team of 30 people from the logistics division. This time, the assignment was a little different than usual. ‘We want to do something meaningful, something inspiring, somehow to share an experience with others’. We embrace ambitious events and we knew right away that this was an opportunity to come up with one of our ‘out of the box’ ideas. Indeed, our suggestions were met with enthusiasm and we eagerly set the ball rolling on preparations. We knew that our work would have an overlapping value and that we could help those less fortunate.
We approached a non-profit organization FOCUS PRAHA supporting people with mental illnesses, their long term goal is to help sufferers live in the environment rather than in high-capacity institutions. Focus Praha runs a service called ‘protected housing’ where people gain their self-confidence in independent housing - they learn the basic skills needed for independent living through assistance in finding a flat and helping them to maintain their own home. Unfortunately, state subsidies cover only the basic needs of the centre and there is not enough funds to make everyday life easier and nicer.
Procter & Gamble chose a protected house Lehovec in Prague with focus on their garden which was in a very poor condition. The main objective was to tidy up and equip the place with wooden furniture to make it more pleasant for leisure time activities and relaxation.
Of course, the easiest way to achieve this would be to go and buy some garden equipment but this was not the intention. This is where this pretty amazing event began, when attendees give their time and resources to a meaningful cause. We suggested that the P&G team would make the furniture themselves during a half day workshop which was organised in a DYI centre in Prague – this was a pay by the hour workshop and factory complete with tools and professional guidance.
In order to make the garden cosy and as functional as possible, we approached a studio of landscape architects, they created a project for plant areas and relaxation zones with multifunctional wooden furniture. On D day, the whole P&G team relocated to the multipurpose workshop situated in an industrial part of Prague. This large area was divided into different spaces for woodwork, metal work, paint/finish room, self-craft studios etc. The whole group was divided into smaller teams and each progressed through all station so that everyone had a chance to try everything. We also had a special group who did ‘tiffany glass art’. Their beautiful art pieces were than hanged on the trees in the garden.
Everyone did well and the mood was simply great.
When we talked with the attendees, they appreciated the manual work and the fact the outcome is something that can be touched/felt. “In the office environment we are usually working on something virtual, we are hitting numbers and statistics and it is often hard to see the outcome of your work” says one participant.
In the afternoon, there was the official handover of the furniture to Lehovec house. The clients of the centre were really happy, they received a gift they would never be able to afford and moreover, it was made especially for them.
In the end, both parties agreed that the project will be continued by way of occasional gardening in Springtime. To our great surprise, many people have volunteered and promised to come to work alongside their families on free weekends.
And on behalf of VANADOO we have also committed to volunteer work at Lehovec garden throughout the year so we have an opportunity to work together for a good cause.