Charity

The PZU Foundation cooperated with organizations working in the areas of social assistance, culture and education to ensure comprehensive support to Ukrainian citizens, namely to provide them with material, nutritional and medical assistance, language courses and vocational training, scholarships and recreation activities for children and young people, including integration events, rehabilitative care, psychological support, as well as cultural initiatives as an expression of solidarity with the fighting Ukrainians.

In the face of the war in Ukraine, the PZU Foundation aimed at subsidizing projects within social assistance, education and culture implemented to, among other things, help organizations engaged in humanitarian, educational and artistic activities supporting Ukrainian citizens who had been forced to leave their country due to ongoing hostilities. The PZU Foundation provided financial assistance for the purchase of daily necessities, clothing, devices, medical equipment, kits and accessories for people with disabilities, medicines, health and hygiene products, food, and other things. In addition, support was provided to organizations which had prepared an educational offer including language courses, vocational trainings, scholarships, integration classes, workshops and trips, as well as psychological assistance for children, youth and adults who had left Ukraine. Funds were granted also to organizations that organized cultural events, including concerts for peace and solidarity with the fighting Ukraine.

To meet the needs of those affected by the yoke of war in Ukraine, the PZU Foundation subsidized 14 projects proposed by organizations which prepared activities in the areas of social assistance, education and culture. The support was provided to Ukrainian citizens, that is children, youth and adults, including people with disabilities. The projects involved provision of humanitarian aid and a variety of educational offerings to facilitate Ukrainian children and youth to get a good start in Polish schools, and adults to learn Polish and English. There were also cultural and artistic events, including concerts for peace.

Nearly PLN 800 thousand was spent in total for this purpose, and about 200 thousand people benefited from the projects subsidized by the PZU Foundation.

PZU Lietuva Gyvybes Draudimas sponsored the SOS Children’s Villages Association in Lithuania, which makes every effort to keep Ukrainian children and families safe. The association takes care of the transportation of children and families, provides new housing, food, medicine and other necessities.

Shortly after 24 February 2022, AAS Balta was one of the first companies in Latvia to publicly show its support for Ukraine and condemn Russia’s unlawful violence. AAS Balta donated EUR 50 000 to the Ukrainians through the Latvian donation platform Ziedot.lv. The company’s staff have participated in two donation campaigns so far, sending cars with humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees in Latvia. The company is promoting an internal campaign encouraging employees to donate warm socks to Ukrainian freedom fighters.

PZU’s Estonian branch, instead of Christmas gifts for its partners, supported those who need it most. They helped Ukrainian refugee children visit the theater and made a donation to the NGO Slava Ukraini.

In view of the changes in the reallocation of funds administered by cities and municipalities, that is the redirection of support to, among other things, combat the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, and in view of the war in Ukraine, the PZU Foundation decided to start cooperating with organizations – foundations, associations and shelters – that have homeless animals under their care. The support was given by providing funds to meet immediate needs of these organizations, including necessary purchases and services.

The goal of the PZU Foundation was to actively engage in helping homeless animals by awarding grants to organizations, that is foundations, associations and shelters, that have homeless animals under their care, including sick, injured or lost animals brought from war-stricken Ukraine. The funds were provided to meet the most urgent needs of these organizations. The following was purchased thanks to this financial support: pet food, including specialty, wet and dry foods, animal feeds, medicines, supplements, hygiene, disinfection and grooming products, veterinary services, including vaccinations, operations and treatments. The financing also covered purchases of small accessories necessary to provide care and assistance to homeless animals.

To alleviate financial problems faced by organizations caring for homeless animals, including animals brought from Ukraine, the PZU Foundation has financially supported 15 projects. The projects aimed at financing immediate needs of those remaining under the care of these organizations, and that included paying for necessary and urgent purchases and services.

Nearly PLN 500 thousand was spent in total for this purpose, and the projects subsidized by the PZU Foundation brought benefits to even 2 thousand wild and domestic animals, including cats, dogs, horses, goats, sheep, ponies and donkeys; animals for adoption and those non-adoptable: old, sick, crippled or dangerous; animals from Poland and those coming from Ukraine.

For many years now, Bank Pekao has been consistently involved in efforts aimed at protecting the Polish bison. The aid provided by the bank is earmarked, among others, to the diversification and development of the bison population, care for bison herds, as well as financial support for the research and educational projects advancing protection of this unique species at the verge of extinction. For two decades, Bank Pekao has supported operation of the Białowieża National Park, as the Park’s sponsor and partner. The funds provided by the Bank cover a part of the Park’s expenses for the monitoring of bison in the backwoods, purchase of provender for the winter, and winter stocktaking. Thanks to the support of Bank Pekao, The Show Bison Reserve – the most frequently visited tourist attraction in the Białowieża National Park – could be modernized, including new equipment to its educational pavilion. The Bank also supports other institutions providing care for the Polish bison, including the Bison Show Enclosure in Pszczyna. The Enclosure organizes lessons about nature, and there is always a chance to meet a bison family and other animals during a walk outdoors. The Warsaw Zoo is another beneficiary of the Bank’s financial support. In addition, Bank Pekao provides grants to the Panda Foundation operating in collaboration with the Warsaw Zoo, and assists in the care over the Warsaw bison herd, of nine animals.

In 2022, the Bank started cooperation with the VARIA Foundation for the Humanities of the University of Warsaw to support the Foundation in issuing the publication entitled “Ochrona żubra w Polsce w okresie międzywojennym Rola Narodowego Muzeum Przyrodniczego” [Protection of the European Bison in Poland in the Interwar Period. The Role of the National Museum of Natural History]. The aim of this publication is to gather scientific facts and popular science information as well as documents which contributed to the establishment of institutional protection of the bison in Poland and Europe. The book is also a contribution to the discussion about the need for a national museum of natural history in Poland.

The program was addressed to students of 2nd and 3rd grades of primary schools, their parents and teachers. The main goal of the project was to provide insurance education, showing benefits that insurance offers to the insured and their families. Additional content concerned safety, accurate predictions and how to avoid various risks. The aid was to increase students’ knowledge and skills in insurance and safe behavior in emergency situations as well as in rational money management. Total number of project recipients in the school year 2021/2022: 33,798

The “My Finances” program covers topics within the scope of economic and social education. The main modules of the program provide educational tools for various fields and aspects of everyday life. The new module “The World of Insurance” includes topics on health insurance, life insurance and motor insurance. The project was addressed to students aged 15-19 who have to choose their further education path, thinking about their future profession. The “My Finances” program provides reliable, professional and practical information and tools on how to navigate the labor market. One of the areas where young people need support, knowledge and tools is insurance. The ability to navigate these issues not only gives young people a sense of security but also enables them to protect themselves, their families and property. The new module “The World of Insurance” shows benefits that insurance can bring for households and individual family members. Topics covered by the program extend students’ knowledge of (health, life, motor) insurance and help them to develop skills needed to effectively manage their personal finances, and build their own social and economic capital as well as shape their professional and life futures. Total number of project recipients in the school year 2021/2022: 375,337.

Selected volunteerism projects authored by PZU employees

Thanks to the Project, the Primary School No. 2 and the First-Level Music School in Milicz, gained an educational and therapeutic place where children can learn how to read time on traditional clocks and get used to such a manner of time measurement. In addition to popularizing this manner, the place aims at promoting teaching through experience of time zones in the world. A section of the corridor was used to create this place; after the walls had been repainted and the wallpaper hung, PZU’s volunteers installed clocks. They arranged furniture, a globe and lamps. In addition, they organized a competition to design the clock face.

PZU’s volunteers renovated two rooms at Hostels for Homeless Women and Women with Children in Katowice. As part of the Project, they equipped the rooms with bookcases, a table, chairs, a range of art accessories, toys and educational materials for children, such as books, a globe, textbooks and board games, In addition, they also renovated the sandbox and replaced the sand in it.

In cooperation with the Dr. Clown Foundation, PZU volunteers published a children’s booklet promoting healthy lifestyle: physical activity, healthy eating habits and health prevention. The booklet also sparks smile and laughter – as a natural medicine we have in us. The rhymes, puzzles and quizzes published in hard copies are distributed in pediatric wards which are full of young patients, with the limited physical access to the wards by their parents and volunteers.

. It was a project aimed at children, youth and people with disabilities. As part of the Project, volunteers organized sports activities: bowling, squash, swimming and diving. First aid classes were also held. Volunteers organized sports competitions in every discipline to verify the level of skills of the beneficiaries from the Special Olympics Club ONI in Atak from Olsztyn. At the end of the Project, there was a family festival with many attractions and prizes.