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Every year, NORMA Group employees around the world volunteer for social and environmental projects in their communities as part of NORMA Help Day. The goal of strengthening a sense of solidarity in the neighborhood and making a contribution to the community is at the heart of the event.
NORMA Help Day took place again this year. At the company headquarters in Maintal, Germany, employees embarked on two local projects. One group built a large insect hotel on the grounds of the Kinder- und Jugendfarm (children and youth farm). Over the course of the next few weeks, the children will continue to fill the wooden structure with nesting aids for wild bees and other insects. The colleagues also installed compression fittings to repair a leaking water pipe.
The other group assisted the Forester in Maintal-Bischofsheim with the care of young trees and clean-up work in the forest.
International contribution
But it wasn’t just at NORMA Group’s headquarters in Maintal that employees were getting involved in the project. A wide variety of social and environmental projects took place at NORMA Group’s many locations.
At the site in Subotica, Serbia, for example, colleagues renovated a playground and planted trees on site.
And in Sweden, employees supported a local organization that organizes summer camps for refugee children from Ukraine. Together they organized an afternoon for 40 children on the summer luge track, which was followed by a buffet.
At the site in St. Clair, USA, over 200 healthy meals were prepared for people in need at a local soup kitchen. Employees also collected donations.
Colleagues at our sites in Lake Orion and Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA, also collected donations. They presented 72 backpacks to Operation Backpack, an initiative of Volunteers of America Michigan whose goal it is to provide backpacks and school supplies to children from low-income families and the homeless in the Detroit area.
And donations were also collected in Águeda, Portugal, for a children’s home and a local animal shelter.
In Malaysia, the focus was on cleaning up the countryside. Employees worked together to collect trash at Kledang Hill, a popular spot for early morning and evening sports enthusiasts.
At our site in Juarez, Mexico, employee helped with a number of renovation projects at an elementary school: Classrooms and the building’s facade were painted, the roof was sealed, door locks were replaced and electrical connections and gas lines were modernized. In addition, school supplies, furniture, cleaning equipment and trash containers were donated.
The colleagues also participated in the donation of plastic lids to the Asociación de Padres de Niños con Cáncer y Leucemia, which is responsible for the treatment of children with cancer. 1,000 of these lids is the equivalent of one round of chemotherapy.
In Australia, NORMA Help Day came early this year. The reason: The Australian animal welfare organization called for a nationwide cupcake day in August to raise funds. Employees baked cupcakes and could make donations online or on-site.
Our colleagues in Atibaia, Brazil, supported a facility for people with mental disabilities. Together, they organized an afternoon of games, dance and music.
NORMA Help Day has been happening at the Maintal site since 2014 and is now organized once a year at all sites worldwide. Colleagues also volunteered their time last year: NORMA Help Day 2022.
