ORLEN Unipetrol Group employees join the traditional Volunteer Days organised by the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation, also this autumn. Following the spring event, when more than 170 volunteers helped at nine locations across the Czech Republic, employees continued their aid in September. This time, they joined two projects focused on social care and nature conservation. Forty people participated in the autumn Volunteer Days organised at the Alzheimer Centre in Zlín and the largest bird park, Střimická výsypka, in Most.
More than 200 ORLEN Unipetrol Group employees took part in the spring and autumn parts of Volunteer Days. “I am pleased that our employees are excited to join Volunteer Days every year. This tradition shows that helping others has a solid place in our company. Volunteer Days are highly popular among employees, offering both specific assistance and a sense of belonging and purpose. Our people demonstrate that they are not indifferent to the environment in which they live and work. We are proud of their willingness to help and contribute to improving life in the regions where we operate,” said Lucie Pražáková, Director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation.
This time, volunteers helped with garden maintenance and adaptations at Alzheimer Home Zlín. This facility provides comprehensive care to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia types. The home is part of a unique project that connects top-class health and social services and is intended for clients requiring continuous and around-the-clock care. The facility’s mission is to provide individually based in-house social services.
Together with the Czech Society for Ornithology, volunteers worked to adapt and clean the largest bird park in Czechia at Střimická výsypka. This reclaimed area near the town of Most is gradually being transformed into a species-rich territory, featuring wetlands, meadows, light forests, and a renewed orchard. Volunteers removed the cut-out branches and vegetation, and especially the alien tree species that negatively affect the local ecosystem.
This year, the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation became a partner of the above-mentioned unique project, helping to develop the largest bird park in Czechia with the aim of restoring biological diversity and bringing nature closer to the public.
Spring Volunteer Days brought specific help and happiness
In spring, ORLEN Unipetrol employees helped, for instance, to build a new enclosure for horses at Vrbová stáj in Přelouč, adapt a school garden in Litvínov, paint aviaries in the Aves animal rescue centre, and clean the area around ponds in Most. They also helped at the Dog Planet shelter, Veltrusy Castle Park, Sulická Care Home in Prague, and a shelter in Kralupy nad Vltavou. Furthermore, the Foundation provided the organisations involved with contributions for aids, making their assistance effective and sustainable.
Volunteer Days are an integral part of ORLEN Unipetrol’s corporate culture, underscoring the company’s commitment to supporting local communities, the environment, and sustainable development. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group and the Foundation are actively involved in projects related to education, community development, and primarily the environment. They engage in supporting all regions where the company operates and are actively involved in projects contributing to a sustainable future.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation launched its activities in 2017. Its primary mission is to support education and popularise science, primarily natural sciences and technical disciplines, as well as corporate social responsibility, emphasising local communities and the environment. The Foundation has long been engaged in supporting schools, teachers, and students with grant programmes. The educational project, ‚Plastík a jeho kouzelný kufřík‘, provides schoolchildren from the first to the fifth grade with an excursion into the world of chemistry through entertaining experiments. Educational support and the associated Foundation’s activities gave rise to many educational materials and outputs in the form of tutorials available at www.nouonline.cz. Beginning in 2024, the Foundation is also committed to corporate social responsibility related to the environment, support of local communities, and volunteering. Such activities include championing volunteer and community projects, fundraising, fish releases into rivers, nesting of endangered peregrine falcons, and beekeeping. The Foundation cooperates with many non-profit organisations on a long-term basis but also reacts to current events in society and emergencies. More information about the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation’s mission and other activities is available at www.nadaceorlenunipetrol.cz.
Contact details:
Lucie Pražáková, director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation
E-mail: nadace@orlenunipetrol.cz
Telephone: +420 736 506 939