Charities and environmental projects for a brighter future

Despite the relatively quick economic recovery after the first lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, many families and communities will be affected by the long-term repercussions of the pandemic for years to come. cargo-partner follows a comprehensive CSR strategy, aiming to create sustainable improvements beyond national and cultural borders. In 2021, the logistics provider has once again built on its long-standing partnerships with charity organizations around the world to help those in need. In addition, cargo-partner has supported several environmental initiatives.

Support for single parents and migrant women

At its headquarters in Austria, cargo-partner participated in the initiative “Licht ins Dunkel” with a donation to support single mothers and fathers in the challenging times of the pandemic. “Licht ins Dunkel” (German for “light into the dark”) is an annual social initiative which raises money for a range of causes, most notably to provide help for people with disabilities. The project is centered around the Licht ins Dunkel Gala, a live telethon where people from all around Austria can call in and donate.

This year, cargo-partner decided to participate in the project with a donation of 50,000 euro to support single mothers and fathers. At the Licht ins Dunkel Gala on November 24, 2021, cargo-partner’s Managing Director in Austria, Martin Schenzel, not only presented the donation check, but also manned one of the phone hotlines. He was delighted about the chance to talk to people from all around the country who wanted to contribute to this good cause.

In addition, cargo-partner’s headquarters supported the association “Die Nachbarinnen” (the neighbors) with a donation of 20,000 euro. This association empowers migrant women to cope with challenging situations and improve their integration into society. The employees, themselves migrant women, act as companions and offer their support.

Over 1,000 trees and three beehives

In summer 2021, cargo-partner launched a comprehensive customer survey to gather feedback on its online solutions as a basis for improving its digital service portfolio. As an incentive to complete the survey, cargo-partner promised to plant a tree for every completed questionnaire in collaboration with Ecologi, a platform for climate action which allows companies to fund a range of leading climate solutions. By the end of the survey, the “cargo-partner forest” had grown to over 1,000 trees.

In addition, cargo-partner’s team in Austria decided to sponsor three beehives in the Vienna Woods to contribute to conserving biodiversity and protecting the environment in the region. The initiative was organized by “Biene Wienerwald... Wien”. This project started in 2016 when the organization leased agricultural land and meadows which were sustainably transformed into a habitat for bees. This “bee oasis” serves to preserve the local biodiversity and cultural landscape and counteract climate change.

Container homes for earthquake victims

The earthquake which hit Croatia on December 29, 2020, left many people without a roof over their heads. In January 2021, cargo-partner donated twelve new containers to serve as housing for these families while their homes were being rebuilt. In addition to the cargo-partner team in Croatia, who donated five containers, the cargo-partner organizations in Austria, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina also joined the cause. In total, the project provided temporary housing for at least twelve families.

Four local initiatives in Slovenia

In Slovenia, cargo-partner supported four different local organizations: Sonček Zgornje Gorenjske (an association for cerebral paralysis), Center KORAK, Kranj (a rehabilitation and employment center for people with brain injuries), VID Humanitarni Zavod Kranj (an organization with raises funds for physically and mentally disabled children and adolescents), and the voluntary fire department of the municipality Cerklje na Gorenjskem.

cargo-partner also supported one of these projects in a more personal way, by buying Christmas gifts and New Year’s greeting cards from the clients of Center KORAK. The Christmas gifts were intended for the children of cargo-partner employees and consisted of personalized tea cups with the children’s names painted on. This was a way to not only support the center, but also give the center’s clients an opportunity to put their skills to use and earn money for themselves.

Improvements beyond national and cultural borders

Gift boxes for retirement homes throughout Slovakia

For the second time, cargo-partner in Slovakia decided to help bring joy to senior citizens during Christmas by supporting the project “How much love can you fit into a shoebox”. For the fourth year in a row, volunteers of the charity Koľko lásky organized the nationwide collection of thousands of Christmas gifts for seniors in retirement homes. To support this project, cargo-partner donated Eur 4 000 and contributed several boxes of gifts put together by its employees, which are currently being distributed to retirement homes and senior citizens who are living alone. 

Targeted help amidst the pandemic

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cargo-partner has organized numerous emergency transports of life-saving medicine, healthcare products and medical devices with the help of its air cargo charter solutions and its network of offices throughout the world. In addition, the transport and info-logistics provider stays true to its motto “we take it personally” by partnering up with humanitarian organizations in the fight against the pandemic.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, cargo-partner donated 7,500 protective masks and 600 hand sanitizing gels to the Association of the Blind in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Serbia. On this occasion, the local cargo-partner team had the opportunity to visit the association’s outposts in Sarajevo, Zenica and Banja Luka and personally hand over the donations.

In April 2021, cargo-partner’s team in Bosnia and Herzegovina would have traditionally hosted its annual get-together with customers and business partners. This year, however, the company decided to forego this event and instead make a donation to the humanitarian organization Pomozi.ba. This charity provides basic food and hygiene products for people in need, including the elderly, single mothers, orphans, people with disabilities, families without permanent income, and migrants.

Scholarships for orphans in Vietnam

The cargo-partner team in Vietnam decided to do something to help young people who have become orphans as a consequence of the coronavirus. The company started a call for donations to raise a scholarship fund with the aim of supporting teenage-aged students who have lost a parent to COVID-19. The company chose to support teenagers as this is a very critical age to lose a parent while struggling to continue focusing on one’s studies and education. In November 2021, cargo-partner’s team handed over a total of 20 scholarships to teenagers who lost their mother or father to the pandemic.

Help for disadvantaged children and people recovering from COVID-19

In Thailand, cargo-partner joined a special initiative to support a school in a remote region. The police school “Tako Pid Thong Border Patrol Police School” organized this project to help disadvantaged children, and as a member of the Thai Authorized Customs Brokers Association, cargo-partner was invited to participate. cargo-partner decided to donate school stationaries, sports supplies and used computers to help these children.

Earlier this year, cargo-partner in Thailand took part in a project to build modular bathrooms for people infected with COVID-19 who are undergoing quarantine and treatment. The initiative was organized by the Thai Airfreight Forwarders Association (TAFA), of which cargo-partner in Thailand has been a member since 2013.

"Jugend eine Welt"

In Nitra, Slovakia, the logistics provider has been funding a daycare center for Roma and Sinti children in cooperation with the non-profit organization Jugend Eine Welt since 2014. According to the latest reports by Jugend Eine Welt, the center has achieved visible improvements for children and families in the community. Thanks to the early education programs provided at the center, children overcome the language barrier between their Roma mother tongue and the Slovak language and benefit from an easier entry into the public school system. In addition, the counseling services for mothers have helped to improve family lives.