“A Better World” Foundation
The Global Challenge: Paint for a smile on November 20th Does anyone remember the successful books collection from last year on November 20th? Our actions helped create in just one day a whole library for children, enabling them to have the chance to a better education! This year we celebrated again “The Global Challenge” in our very own special way. We all came together and painted for a smile. We opened painting studios in all three ING locations and we created small works of art for the benefit of abandoned children from children’s centers in the 4th district in Bucharest. The event was part of a wider project called “A child is a painting”, developed by “My Flower” Humanitarian Association. The project is based on the belief that every child is like an empty canvas. Just as you paint on the white canvas to turn it into a wonderful painting, a child can grow beautifully once encouraged to be creative and to discover his or her special abilities and social skills. The results speak for themselves:
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Over 400 participants
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More than 350 paintings created
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And a lot of enthusiasm!
All the paintings were exhibited during the Kidex Fair and a lot of them were bought by their creators. Thus, we managed to raise 2.500 RON for the children! The Foundation also contributed with 5.000 EUR in order to offer the little ones a truly Merry Christmas. Some of our colleagues shared their feelings with us about this event. Read here what they had to say! The news about our success travelled fast and all people in ING read about our event. Read the article published in the Corporate Responsibility Newsletter:
ING Romania gets artistic for GC day in support of foster homes As part of this year’s ING Chances for Children Global Challenge, ING Romania organized painting sessions at head office in Bucharest. The aim was to produce, exhibit and sell small paintings and works of art, with the proceeds going to foster centers for abandoned children in Bucharest’s District 4. All employees were invited to paint for at least 15 minutes under the coordination of art instructors who are involved in the pilot program ‘A child is a painting.’ This pro-
gram, which is supported financially by our Foundation, encourages the foster centre children to paint, express their creativity and develop their social skills through art. All the paintings created by the children during the pilot program and by our employees were put on sale at an exhibition at Kidex Fair on 3-6 December. The proceeds will go to the foster homes to be used over Christmas and to sustain their daily needs in Q1 2010. The event turned out to be such a huge success and so many colleagues wanted to take part that a second painting studio had to be organized on 27 November, a week after GC day. In all, 400 small paintings were created, compared with an initially expected 30. A total of 324 employees participated, volunteering a total of 85 hours. The organizing committee commented: “The event had a fantastic success in encouraging people to step out of the daily business stress and let their creativity flow. It was this success that prompted us to arrange another painting studio on the following Friday, when 150 employees enrolled and produced 200 paintings.” One of our colleagues who took part said: “November 20th became more than just a working day. It helped us to discover that we can play by painting, be part of a large ING team, and that through being creative we can help children in need.” The foster homes commented: “The enthusiasm we found at ING came as a pleasant surprise. This was the first time that an event of this nature has been organized on a multinational’s premises. We expected a maximum 30 people to be involved and to deliver 30 paintings. The result of 200 paintings on November 20th came as a total surprise. We saw ING senior management getting involved and coming to paint.” “But the day wasn’t to end without another big surprise, when ING coordinators asked us if we could spare the art instructors for a second session of painting on the following Friday. Again, the result was unexpected with 150 employees enrolling and 200 paintings ready for sale.” Suggestions for next year’s Global Challenge included posting the results on local intranet sites and organizing a ‘Volunteer Day’ on 20 November. ING management has already agreed to this. You can see more on ING Global Challenge 2009 huge success and message of Mr. Jan Hommen at this link.
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Get the Christmas spirit! What we did as Santa’s representative this Christmas? As we were sent to spread Christmas cheer to some very special kids, we prepared special gifts for: - 30 children at IOMC (pampers, clothes, etc.) - 51 from Touches (clothes, sweets, toys, etc.). - 50 children for Mia’s Association. For Mia we joined forces with “Mosociclistii”, an association that helped us with cookies, toys and clothes, while the Foundation ensured the necessary food supplies for the holidays and the month of January. - 350 children from orphanages of District 4, Bucharest
Want to help?
Donate to A Better World Foundation…
Here at the Foundation, we deeply appreciate all the help we can get. Even the smallest amount takes us one step further in our goal to make a better world for the less fortunate. If you would like to get involved and become a permanent contributor for the Foundation, please use this form or activate a direct debit mandate. Find out below which are the sources for raising the much needed money in order to carry out the Foundation’s projects:
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Donations from the ING staff into ING account
RO18INGB0001008162058910
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Your monthly donations through the special donation form
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ING Legal entities contribution
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ING Offices contribution
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Life insurance Sales force contribution
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Return of 2% of the global taxes that you pay yearly
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Special events collections in money, clothes and food (Christmas, Easter, 1st of June, etc.)
Paper and electronic equipment recycling that are transformed in funds. Outlook signatures will be ended with the following statement: For a better world, ING donates to the Foundation paper recycling funds.
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…or find a special project Have you noticed our Special donations page? If not, click here to find out how you can lend a helping hand! This section features various announcements for urgent cases that the Foundation could not sustain and is updated on a regular basis. The cases presented here are classified under two categories, namely People that asked for financial support for their needs and Things or actions that can make some people happy and ease their life. Please bear in mind that these projects were not previously evaluated. The level of trust and support is up to you, but you should give them a chance. It could be your friend, your relative or your neighbor. You may save a life or you can bring your contribution for a better world.
Thank you!
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Testimonials
A fost o zi care, fara sa exagerez, mi-a linistit sufletul. Avusesem o zi destul de agitata, cu destule probleme la serviciu, cu neintelegeri, tensiune si dezamagiri. Intr-un cuvant, eram intr-o stare depresiva destul de puternica, ceea ce nu mi se intampla foarte des. Am ajuns la locul unde se pictau tablourile aproape de sfarsitul programului, convinsa fiind ca nu voi sta mai mult de 5 minute si ca nu voi fi in stare sa fac nimic in starea in care eram. Nu stiam nimic despre pictura pe sticla, nu incercasem niciodata pana atunci, mi se parea ceva foarte greu de realizat pentru mine. Gandul ca totusi pot ajuta pe cineva, cat de putin, prin gestul meu, m-a facut sa incerc. Atmosfera de la acea masa de lucru era una de concentrare, dar si veselie, insa m-a uimit mai ales dorinta si daruirea colegilor mei mult mai tineri pentru aceasta activitate. Initial, credeam ca fiecare va realiza o mica parte dintr-un tablou, urmand ca altcineva sa-l termine. Nu stiu daca cineva a plecat de acolo fara sa termine, pana la ultimul detaliu, ceea ce incepuse. Pur si simplu, nu-ti venea sa mai pleci. Activitatea nu s-a dovedit a fi atat de dificila pe cat credeam eu si dupa ce am depasit momentul de stanjeneala in care imi era teama ca nu voi fi in stare nici macar sa trasez conturul figurilor pe care urma sa le desenez, am prins curaj si am continuat, reusind sa termin micul tablou. M-am gandit in tot acest timp numai la lucruri bune, la cat de trista poate fi viata unor copii fara parinti care sa-i iubeasca. M-am gandit ca cei doi ingerasi pe care ii pictam sunt chiar cei doi copii ai mei si, desi, am cumparat tabloul, ca sa-mi aminteasca acel moment minunat, imi doresc ca ingerasii mei sa ii ocroteasca pe micii ingerasi fara parinti si sa le aduca bucurie in suflet. Va felicit pentru aceasta idee minunata, nu stiu daca va asteptati sa fi avut un asemenea succes, dar este cert ca energiile noastre bune s-au unit atunci pentru un scop minunat si asta este cel mai important. Delia Bratu, Manager Evaluator’s Unit, Retail Credit Line
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I felt, for 1 hour, the magic of speaking through colors. It felt good to know that by doing something so little, relaxing and joyful, I could help someone. That was the magic! As for the action itself, it was a wonderful idea which brought together and closer people and teams for one good cause! Ozana Guta, Junior Analyst ORM, Operational Risk Management Retail
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In cazul Kiseleff, din punctul meu de vedere toata lumea s-a entuziasmat foarte tare atunci cand a pictat, pentru ca s-au transpus intr-o perioada in care stiau sa fie fericiti. A mai fost apoi si faptul ca s-au rupt de stresul cotidian pentru cateva clipe si au descoperit frumusetea de a face „altceva”. Pentru cei mai vanitosi, a fost o ocazie de a participa la un eveniment caritabil si a aduce un zambet unui copil in prag de sarbatoare. All in all, pe buzele tuturor au stat cuvintele „un succes fantastic”. Alexandra Arhip, Jr. Lending Risk Analyst, Corporate Risk Management Wholesale
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Foarte buna actiunea cu pictatul pe sticla. A prins bine si colegilor mei si sper ca si Fundatiei. Singurul comentariu ‘negativist’ e legat de pret: din ce am discutat cu colegii mei de departament pretul a fost foarte mic. (personal nici nu ma asteptam sa vina inramat). Razvan Rus, Actuary, Insurance Risk Management
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M-am bucurat foarte mult de aceasta initiativa! M-am bucurat la gandul ca voi ajuta si eu cu putin niste copii si mai mult de atat m-am simtit foarte bine. Nu mai simteam ca sunt la birou, ca trebuie sa muncesc si pret de cateva zeci de minute m-am simtit iar copil! Un copil care isi manifesta bucuria prin alegerea culorilor, am simtit ca ma joc! Ar fi frumos ca aceste initiative sa se intample mai des! In felul asta, noi , angajatii am evada si am ajuta pe cineva care are nevoie. Elena Togan, Collection Officer, Insurance Operations
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In Opera building, maybe more than anywhere else, the desire to be part of this event, the joy, felt like a rush. People were coming in waves, but none of them parted with their painting before finishing it. There was silence and concentration, there was also relaxation and I felt like all the participants became children again for a while. This was a positive, creative event that brought happiness both to our colleagues and to our beneficiaries. It will be a pleasure to repeat it in the near future. Corina Voicu, IT Assistant, IT - Insurance
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Despre sesiunea de pictura din punctul meu de vedere: - un moment foarte relaxant si placut - un mod ingenios de a dona niste banuti la fundatie - o activitate care ne-a facut placere dar pe care nu putem sa o desfasuram neaparat acasa. Andreea Licu, Analyst ORM, Operational Risk Management
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Subscriu la ceea ce a scris Andreea. E o super initiativa care sper din suflet ca a adus niste banuti pentru fundatie.
Alin Butac, Anti Fraud and Crisis Management Officer, Operational Risk Management
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Sunt de aceeasi parere. Daca as putea sa fac doar asta... Glumesc! :) Dar va rugam sa repetati! Asteptam Pastele. :)
Livia Handaric, Analyst ORM, Operational Risk Management