Grupa Azoty has named the best Employee Volunteering initiatives. The judging panel have selected 14 projects proposed by employees of the Grupa Azoty Group companies. As in the previous edition of the Programme, most of the ideas put forward were related to ‘Green Azoty’, a strategic project of the Grupa Azoty Group. Each winner will receive PLN 6,000 to finance implementation of the initiative they developed.
Employees of the Grupa Azoty Group could submit their proposals until April 19th 2023 and the winning projects will be carried out from May 15th to August 15th. We estimate that several hundred volunteers, employees of the Grupa Azoty Group and their loved ones, from all over Poland will be involved in the implementations.
“This is another edition of the Volunteering Programme, in which our employees put forward interesting ideas, also for environmentally friendly solutions. It is particularly satisfying to see that in parallel with implementation of green solutions by the Group companies, our employees also join the activities. The previous edition showed how deeply committed our volunteers are to their projects, and I have no doubt that this year will be no different,” said Tomasz Hinc, President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A.
Winning Projects of the Employee Volunteering Programme
1. Insect-friendly spot, or ecological educational path
Volunteering project by Grupa Azoty S.A. employees
Aim: to create an ecological educational path in the garden of Public Preschool No. 33 in Tarnów. The planned space will be located adjacent to a small orchard to be built on the preschool grounds, and the path will feature insect boxes, bird nesting boxes, a mini meadow, a weather station, a sensory path, a sundial and information boards.
2. Green Corner in Kiełczyna
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Siarkopol employees
Aim: to develop the area near the village community centre and preschool in Kiełczyna. This neglected area will be transformed into a green square with flowerbeds, shrubs and ornamental trees; benches and trash cans will also be set up.
3. Green zone of comfort and relaxation – way to improve stress tolerance
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Puławy employees
Assumptions: to create an open-air green zone of comfort and relaxation on the fenced premises of the National Education Commission General Education School Complex No. 1 in Puławy for the school students and the local community. Laying out a coloured checkboard on the floor will allow the school to use the large chess pieces it already has.
4. Eco toddlers are good kids
Volunteering project by Grupa Azoty S.A. employees
Aim: to renovate one room in the preschool and create a “green corner” in it; to create “green filter” corners, with plants that filter the air and produce oxygen, in each of the preschool eight rooms. In the preschool garden a flower meadow will be planted and a plastic tunnel will be made for the pre-schoolers to grow vegetables. The project will be carried out at Public Preschool No. 35 with Integration Group in Tarnów.
5. For their better tomorrow
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Automatyka employees
Aim: to create the first therapy room in Tarnów for children and young people who need support in the form of social skills training. The Ich Lepsze Jutro (For a Better Tomorrow) Association has premises (that need renovation) and qualified specialists to give such training. As part of the project, a therapy room will be renovated and equipped.
6. Hands full of kindness
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Police employees
Aim: to renovate Caritas’ warehouse and office space in Police. The premises where food boxes are stored and distributed need major renovation. The volunteers will clean up the premises, paint the warehouses, install shelving racks and necessary furniture in the warehouses, renovate the sanitary facilities to bring them in line with the minimum requirements, and prepare the office and administration space.
7. Green eco-adventure: Environmental Corner and Experiments for Preschoolers
Volunteering project of Agrochem Puławy employees
Aim: to create an ecological corner at the Municipal Preschool in Gwieździn for the children to play and learn about various aspects of ecology. In this way they will be able to gain the knowledge and skills they will need to take conscious action for the environment, while having fun and developing their creativity and manual skills. The team members will create graphic materials and do ecological experiments for the children.
8. Equipment for the sensory path at the INICJATYWA Therapy and Diagnosis Centre in Puławy
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Puławy employees
Aim: to adapt the area of the INICJATYWA Therapy and Diagnosis Centre to the needs of the youngest users by equipping the sensory path. The course of the sensory path will be divided into sections corresponding to the senses of hearing, touch and sight. Street furniture elements will be set up to provide audio and tactile impressions and will use intense colours. Plant compositions comprising humming grass and soft-touch flowers and shrubs will also be planted.
9. Green enclave for our welfare
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Police employees
Aim: to increase the social commitment of employees to the local community of Nowe Warpno, the most north-west point of Poland and the smallest municipality in the Police County. As part of the project, a greenery will be created at the School and Kindergarten Complex in Nowe Warpno for the students and the local community.
10. Mościce supports local nature
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty employees
Aim: to purchase and install several dozen bird nesting boxes and feeders. They will be installed on trees in the Mościce Housing Estate area, including in the E. Kwiatkowski Park, near the Mościce Arts Centre, at schools and kindergartens, as well as near the headquarters of Grupa Azoty S.A.The Mościce housing estate was established as a garden district and it is very important for its biodiversity that habitat for useful birds is provided there. After the project is completed, the installed boxes and feeders will be taken care of and food for birds will be provided.
11. Library closer to nature "Free the book" – bookcrossing. Green entrance to the library
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty ZAK employees
Aim: to create a green and friendly place for residents of the Bierawa municipality, encouraging them to use the library. The closing element of the project will be the creation of an outdoor house for books, where residents can reach for a book at any time as part of the ‘Free the Book’ campaign.
12. School on two wheels – building a bicycle parking lot
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty ZAK employees
Aim: to create a bicycle parking lot – purchase and install racks for 30 bicycles and 20 scooters and grow plants on the adjacent area. On the occasion, the ‘School on Two Wheels’ competition will be organized at the school. The project will be carried out at Silesian Insurgents Public Primary School No. 1 in Kędzierzyn-Koźle.
13. Senso-kids – sensory development in early childhood education
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Siarkopol employees
Aim: to support sensory integration in early education of I-III graders in primary school, through play and workshops. A sensory pathway will be created and workshops will be conducted by teachers qualified in sensory integration. The project will be carried out at the T. Kościuszko Public School in Połaniec.
14. Mini gym in a green grove
Volunteering project of Grupa Azoty Fosfory employees
Aim: to create a green grove with two varieties of thuja, forsythia, ivy, firethorns and willow. In the centre of the grove, a mini gym will be set up for the children. The mini gym will be built at the Remus Primary School in Glincz.
For details of the Employee Volunteering Programme, go to wolontariat.grupaazoty.com.