Reinforcing Our Habitat: Global CSR Projects
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As The Reinforcers of the world, we have an aim: that of reinforcing our habitat. One of our main goals is to be able to strengthen the social environment we operate in.
Since its establishment in 1973, Kordsa has continuously improved its strength and motivation based on our principles and values. Kordsa encourages all its employees to take the lead in social affairs in a responsible and sensitive manner for the benefit of the society, wherever it operates. In other words, reinforcing our society, our environment is a key responsibility for Kordsa employees.
From the top management down, each and every Kordsa employee aims to understand the needs of the society we operate in. With this in mind, our agile teams embarked on a number of projects across different regions. Here, we would like to share some social projects we carried out in the 2nd half of 2015:
Red Day – Heart Awareness Campaign
Kordsa, Inc – Laurel Hill, USA
Kordsa Laurel Hill joined the American Heart Association’s fight against heart disease by participating in the National WEAR RED DAY. Mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends – everyday women are dying at a rate of almost one per minute. 1 in 3 women dies of heart disease and stroke. Employees were asked to show their support for the fight against heart disease in women by wearing “RED”. It’s an easy, powerful way to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and stroke in both men and women.
Orphanage Visit
Thai Indo Kordsa, Thailand
Giving back to society is a common practice for each and every member of Kordsa, and Thai Indo Kordsa organized a visit to an orphanage in the Bodwarradit Temple, in Ang Thong province.
51 employees out of 78 participated in the event, and spent the day with children living in the orphanage. During their visit, Kordsa employees served lunch to children. As they did not consider this to be a one-time affair, they wanted to leave a trace of themselves: in addition to foodstuff, they brought items of clothing and toys for children to keep.
Will You Go Out With Me?
Kordsa, Turkey
Will You Go Out With Me was a project carried out in August together with Turkey Spinal Cord Paralytics Association. The Association reports more than 150,000 people living with spinal cord paralysis in Turkey. 90% of them are dependent on wheelchairs and the help of others. Worse still, most of them are confined to their homes due to lack of social and environmental support (such as transportation).
Will You Go Out With Me focused on children with spinal cord paralysis. The idea was to spend a weekend with little ones, who cannot engage with the outside world the way we can. Throughout August, Kordsa employees picked up 11 children were from their homes with their companions, and spent the day together, doing whatever the children wished. Dilara Uzatıcı, a Sourcing Specialist and one of the Kordsa’s volunteers, expressed her feelings: ‘I have never had a day like the one I spent with the little girl with the almond eyes. I call her “the girl with the almond eyes” because of her beautiful brown eyes. We went to the cinema with her and 2 of her companions. It was devastating to see the difficulties a person in a wheelchair experiences day in and day out. Ever since then, whenever I go out, I remember that day and I realize the many obstacles around.’ After spending the day with “the girl with the almond eyes,” Dilara Uzatıcı became her special tutor, and still visists the family to prepare her for the university entrance exams.
Pink Together Month - Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign
Kordsa, Inc – Laurel Hill, USA
October is globally recognized as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in which thousands of organizations highlight the importance of breast cancer awareness, education and research. According to U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics, 1 in 8 women (about 12%) will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
Kordsa Laurel Hill Team joined the fight against Breast Cancer by participating in the Pink Together Month. They showed their support to fight against breast cancer by wearing Pink in October.
One Tube of Blood – One Life Campaign
Kordsa, Turkey
The campaign was carried out in association with the Turkish Red Crescent to raise awareness about stem cell/blood donation in October. According to the Turkish Red Crescent, while the rate of blood donation in developed countries on average is 5%, the rate of voluntary blood donation in Turkey remains at 3.6%. Consequently, various means and methods have to be employed to find blood in cases of emergency.
Initially all white and blue-collar workers were educated about the process of donating blood to build awareness about blood/stem cell donation. The idea was to encourage people in good health, who have never given blood, to begin doing so. This was followed, during October, by the Turkish Red Crescent teams’ once a week visit to the İzmit plant. According to the data from our Health Unit, 131 employees donated blood, and 116 employees registered to the National Bone Marrow Bank.
Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure
Kordsa, Inc – Chattanooga, USA
Each year, Chattanooga employees work together to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Foundation. According to the official website of the Foundation, their mission is “to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering others, ensuring quality care for all and investing in science to find the cures.”
Chattanooga employees had several fundraisers for this cause: a bake sale, a Pie in the Face contest and employee participation in the Race for the Cure. For the bake sale, employees donated home baked goodies to sell in order to raise money. Employees really enjoyed the competition between members of management, in which they gave money for the person they wanted to watch get a pie in the face. Mark Myers ended up winning with Billy Popas and Earl Kretzschmar tying for second place. The fundraiser ended with employees participating in the annual Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5K run. In total, $2.100 was raised to donate to the Foundation.
Computer Donation
Thai Indo Kordsa, Thailand
Our team at Thailand was looking for an opportunity to make use of the unused computers in our plant. They decided to donate these computers to the Suan Kaew Foundation, a foundation that is in pursuit of public benefit through several projects on topics including, but not limited to, unemployment, poverty, environment and agriculture.
Thai Indo Kordsa Co., Ltd. donated a total of approximately 100 computers, printers and copy machines to the Suan Kaew Foundation.
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