Europe – wholehearted commitment in Poland to ensure a care-free childhood

Around 20000 minors in Poland rely on state welfare provisions, such as children’s homes or foster parents. Among these is the Stanica children’s home in Katowice, which provides a new home for more than 50 protégés aged six to eighteen. Various employees from Autoneum’s production site in Katowice are supporting the home in its challenging work by taking part in activities such as renovating and refurbishing children’s rooms. With Autoneum’s donations, the Stanica home has also been able to buy sports equipment and fund trips for the young residents. By doing this, Autoneum Katowice is making a lasting contribution to the charity work being carried out in its local community.

North America – promoting healthy living with the Big Bike in Canada

Across the world, the number of overweight people with serious secondary illnesses such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases is rising. To raise public awareness of such issues and to draw attention to health-improving measures, the Big Bike Ride is held in the Canadian town of Tillsonburg every year. This event involves participants cycling through Tillsonburg on a giant bike in aid of the “Heart and Stroke Foundation” of Canada, which has been working across the country for over 60 years to support treatment and research that promote healthy living. For the fourth consecutive year, employees from our Tillsonburg plant took part in the charity bike ride and, thanks to their hard work, raised over 4000 Canadian dollars in 2018!

Asia – tree planting for better air quality in India

The Indian city of Behror is shaped by an extremely hot and dry climate and is affected by air pollution. This impacts not only residents and employees of the local Autoneum plant but also the surrounding vegetation. Autoneum Behror has therefore decided to significantly enlarge the green spaces around the plant in the course of expanding its local production capacity. The benefits are clear: Trees improve the air quality by releasing oxygen and filtering CO2 and dust out of the air. The shade they provide also cools down the surroundings and protects the ground from erosion.
All employees of the plant participated in the three-month clean-up and reforestation activity both inside and outside the plant grounds, planting more than 300 trees. In order to show the positive effects of a sustainability-focused approach both on the landscape and people’s health, Autoneum Behror will also be extending its environmental protection work to neighboring communities.

SAMEA (South America, Middle East, and Africa) – providing education for disadvantaged children in Brazil

In Brazil, extreme poverty and related crime are still widespread. Children coming from such a difficult background have little chances of getting sufficient education. “Centro Educacional Menino Jesus”, a pre-school in the south-eastern city of São Paulo, is making a difference in this respect. Specialist teachers are working with more than 200 children, helping them to develop their motor and language skills. Autoneum São Paulo supports the organization by providing clothing and books, preparing the children as fully as possible for life at school. The work doesn’t stop there either, as in future, all four of Autoneum’s Brazilian locations will be launching charity campaigns to help improve educational opportunities for disadvantaged children.