INESC TEC supported institutions on the International Volunteer Day once again

More than 30 members of the INESC TEC community joined efforts to observe the International Volunteer Day, on December 5; the goal was to support six institutions in the northern region of Portugal:  Associação Vida Norte, Banco Alimentar, Centro de Apoio ao Sem Abrigo (CASA), Hospital de S. João, Porta Solidária and REFOOD. 

INESC TEC – through the Social Responsibility and Diversity and Inclusion Commissions – challenged the employees to nominate the institutions they wanted to support. The objective was to celebrate the International Volunteer Day, established in December 1985, by the United Nations (UN), to encourage and value volunteer actions throughout the world.

So, between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., more than 30 members of the INESC TEC community left for six institutions.

At Associação Vida Norte (Braga), INESC TEC’s group of volunteers helped to arrange and organise the stock of donations that were on the premises, and that will now be prepared to be distributed among the families supported by this institution, during Christmas. This association supports pregnant women and babies at risk in the districts of Porto and Braga; the stock was mostly composed of products like baby food, formula milks, diaper changing creams, wipes, diapers, etc. The association said that 2023 was a peculiar year, since the donations collected in the previous year’s Christmas campaign – which normally suppresses needs until September – began to show shortages in May. In addition to items for babies and pregnant women, the institution also accepts feminine hygiene products. Associação Vida Norte was also the institution chosen by INESC TEC employees for the 2023 Christmas donation campaign.

The group of volunteers who went to the premises of the Banco Alimentar (Perafita) helped to organise stocks of the nationwide campaign promoted by the institution a few days earlier. Some of the volunteers were responsible for bagging hundreds of products, e.g., rice, pasta, cookies, or cereals, while others were responsible for completing baskets to be delivered to more than 300 institutions supported by the Banco Alimentar (in the district of Porto alone).

At CASA, the group of INESC TEC volunteers helped to wrap gifts that will be distributed among the homeless community supported by the institution. This was the second time that INESC TEC volunteers supported this institution. CASA was also the institution supported by INESC TEC Christmas campaign last year. (there is a great shortage of volunteers in August, so all those interested can contact the institution directly: https://casa-apoioaosemabrigo.org/).

Also, for the second year, several INESC TEC members went to the Hospital de S. João, joining the Associação Voluntariado do Hospital de S. João. The INESC TEC group supported the hospital’s volunteers in patients’ access to external consultations. There are several ways to help this association, including donations (financial or assets), effective membership, personal or corporate volunteering. All this information is available on the association’s website: https://www.voluntariado-hsjoao.pt/index.php.

Porta Solidária welcomed the INESC TEC volunteers who worked during two shifts. In the first round, the group helped to prepare cold meal kits, to be distributed that same night. In the second round, the group helped to serve hot meals and wash dishes. This institution provides more than 400 daily meals (except on Saturdays), all based on donations and volunteer work. One way to support Porta Solidária is precisely by donating food items that can be used to prepare meals. They accept volunteers all year round, anytime between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., to help prepare kits, eating spaces, and/or meals.

Finally, other INESC TEC volunteers went to one of the REFOOD centres in Vila Nova de Gaia, where they were able to understand all the dynamics behind the activities they carry out. This initiative collects tons of good food with the goal of eliminating waste while feeding those who need it most. One of the most urgent tasks is to collect food from restaurants and supermarkets since most volunteers do not have their own car. There is also a great shortage of packaging options (ice cream boxes, soups, marmalades, etc.), so the teams can deliver the food to the families in need.

“The feedback obtained by the employees who participated in this volunteer action was very positive. We noticed that there is an increasing interest in actively participating in this type of activities in addition to those promoted by the institution itself. We already have people organising, individually and/or in groups, in order to continue the work they carried out this afternoon. In 2024, we hope to be able to organise similar actions”, mentioned the teams of the Social Responsibility and Diversity and Inclusion Commissions.