We perceive very intensively and sensitively to the emergency associated with the extraordinary situation related to the spread of COVID-19, which influenced our planned activities at the beginning of 2020.
Efforts to contribute to the protection of people and not to expose them to the risk of an infection were and still are our priority during this period. Considering the situation, we decided to reschedule our activities and decided to provide other forms of help.
In this context, we have suspended the grant program Let’s Work Together for a Good Cause as well as the Grant program for Employees. We will consider re- opening them at a more favorable time in 2021.
In response to the pandemic situation in 2020, we have decided to set up the special Aid Fund of Nadácia Orange. Our aim was to contribute to the protection of people, the prevention of the risk of the disease, and the prevention of its further spread; and mainly to the unfavorable societal consequences that the emergency brought to us. We wanted to respond to them and to contribute to a social assistance to those who were most affected by this situation.
Aid Fund Of Nadácia Orange was conducted in two phases, in which we supported up to 172 requestors in the total amount of 191 000 EUR.
We also wanted to give the opportunity to provide help for our colleagues from Orange Slovakia who wanted to give a hand to people at higher risk. We established the special Aid Fund for Employees to give them the opportunity to contribute to the protection of people, the prevention of the risk of an infection, the prevention of its further spread, and to contribute to the elimination of the consequences that threatened social and economic security for people. We supported 21 requests in the total amount of 10 812 EUR.
At the same time, we were helping several NGOs – long-term partnerships – in the area of community development.. We aimed to institutionally support those NGOs, which were not able to conduct their own community projects and helped them to prevent risks associated with the attenuation of their activities within the extraordinary time (Tabačka in Košice, Voices in Trenčín, Záhrada in Banská Bystrica, Nová Cvernovka in Bratislava…).
The alarming findings in the impact of the crisis on the mental health of the population, which will recover long after the end of the special regime, have prompted a more fundamental response in us. Because of this information, we started to think about how to support mental health issues strategically and in a long-run. We started with the set up of a new Crisis Helpline (www.krizovalinkapomoci.sk), operated by NGO IPčko.
We also supported the establishment and activities of the new Mental Health Helpline Initiative. In cooperation with three non-governmental organizations, which operate the three largest helplines, we decided to contribute to systemic solutions to prevention in the area of mental health of the population of Slovakia.
In cooperation with NGOs – Návrat, Nadácia Socia, Centrum Slniečko, Človek v ohrození and initiative #ktoPomozeSlovensku we created Christmas Aid Fund in November 2020.With financial contribution from Orange in the amount of 100 000 EUR we supported 433 families, strongly hit by the negative consequences of the pandemic.
Christmas Aid Fund was complemented by SMS collection among Orange customers.
We have been monitoring the situation, responsibly complying with the regulations, and planning on our further activities to minigate consequences of the pandemic situation.