18. 4. 2017

Krka’s employees have joined in charity acts for the sixth consecutive time

10 min. read

Novo mesto, 10 April 2017. Krka’s volunteers participated actively in Krka’s Week of Charity and Volunteering, the 6th socially responsible campaign, under the slogan ‘Charity Is Also a Part of Us’. The campaign took place between 3 and 8 April 2017. This year, 1,200 Krka’s employees came forward as volunteers. Blood was donated by 275 Krka’s blood donors and many of us donated clothes, toys, foot wear, food, books and other necessities for adults and children as well as dog and cat food. We collected over 3.6 tonnes of necessities and 500 kg of pet food. We kept the elderly company at 35 retirement homes and residents of eight occupational activity centres, schools with special curriculum, other institutes and institutions, and offered a helping hand to an animal shelter and the Ljubljana Zoo. On Saturday, 8 April, the week of charity acts was concluded by an open-door day for the participants of the University of the Third Age, and for Krka’s employees and their family members. Krka’s central production site in Ločna in Novo mesto was visited by 2,300 visitors. Charity and volunteering provide the chance for giving profoundly and getting even more in return: warm smiles, hand squeezes, grateful looks and happy eyes.

Ever since its was founded 63 years ago, Krka has been supporting volunteering, which has become an integral part of the organisational culture. Many of Krka employees are active volunteers, so in 2012 we decided to hold a socially responsible campaign called Krka’s Week of Charity and Volunteering. In the six seasons of the humanitarian campaign, more than 6,000 Krka employees acted as volunteers. The campaign also this year provided ample opportunity for charity acts. In this way we once again helped several people who find themselves in difficult situations or are feeling lonely. We shared positive feelings and experiences with many employees under the slogan ‘Charity Is Also a Part of Us’. This year, 1,200 Krka employees participated in various charity acts, 100 of them for the first time. Krka’s volunteers have set a good example for many in the broad community as several new charity events have been organised in the region. It especially pleases us that like last year also this year for one day our fellow employees from subsidiaries and representative offices from the Russian Federation, Spain, Turkmenistan, Poland, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine and Germany joined us in charity acts. This year our fellow workers from Romania, Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mongolia and Croatia also participated. Our humanitarian acts have been extended to 18 countries.  

During the charity week, we collected clothes, books, school necessities, and other necessities for adults and children, helped the Red Cross and Caritas charities, donated blood, helped the elderly at 35 retirement homes, spent time with the residents of eight occupational activity centres and other associations and institutions, collected cat and dog food for sheltered animals and assisted with maintenance work in an animal shelter and a zoo. Krka employees abroad mostly participated by collecting various necessities and donating blood.

We donated blood

Krka’s employees have donated more than 670 litres of blood during the six campaigns of Krka’s Week of Charity and Volunteering. We at Krka regularly engage in charity as on average more than 1,000 Krka employees donate blood twice a year and every year there are new blood donors joining the club. We have helped saving many a life with our charitable acts. This year 275 volunteers donated blood during the time of our charity campaign in Ljubljana, Novo mesto, Krško and Ljutomer. Of those, 45 were first-time blood donors. This year we donated 123 litres of this precious liquid within one week.

We collected necessities

Every year more and more employees get involved in collecting, so it is no surprise that in the last six campaigns we collected 19.2 tonnes of clothes and necessities. This year we have collected the biggest quantity of necessities so far. At various Krka sites across Slovenia (in Novo mesto, Ljubljana, Krkško, Ljutomer, Bršljin, Šentjernej and all Terme Krka business units) we collected 3.6 tonnes of clothing, toys, foot wear, books, food and other necessities for adults and children. Krka volunteers also remembered the animals who had no owners. During the campaign, we collected more than 500 kg of dog and cat food which will be given to animal shelters.

We helped the Red Cross and Caritas

Some employees decided to contribute by packing the food packages and sorting the donated clothing. These activities were carried out at the Red Cross in Novo mesto and Ljutomer, and the Humanitarian Centre in Ljubljana and Caritas. The Krka’s volunteers helped Caritas and Red Cross prepare 910 food packages and sort 3.5 tonnes of clothing and other necessities collected by Krka for distribution to socially disadvantaged families and individuals. The volunteers cooperated with the Red Cross in the Dolenjska region to assist the elderly with cleaning of their homes.

We helped the elderly and persons with special needs

Many volunteers in Ljubljana, Novo mesto and Ljutomer decided to give assistance to residents in retirement homes across Slovenia. In 35 retirement homes in Slovenia we organised workshops for improving memory and various creative workshops, accompanied residents on walks and helped them with carrying out every-day tasks, or just talked with them, because a nice word and squeeze of a hand make any person happy and make the feeling of loneliness go away. Mešani pevski zbor Krka (Krka’s mixed choir), Pihalni orkester Krka (Krka’s wind orchestra) and the ZaSUK bend performed in a few retirement homes. In the retirement home in Novo mesto, the residents were given the opportunity of getting to know the space in a planetarium.

During the charity campaign, Krka’s volunteers visited eight occupational activity centres and some other institutes (Novo mesto Occupational Activity Centre – Bršljin Unit; Occupational Activity Centre – Šmihel Unit; Dragotin Kette Novo mesto primary school, Malči Beličeva youth centre; Janez Levec special education centre; Centre for Education, Work and Care Dolfka Boštjančič Draga, Ig; Education Centre Elvira Vatovec Strunjan; Ljutomer Occupational Activity Centre) where we kept company to the residents and assisted them with daily activities. Residents and pupils were made familiar with the countries where Krka does business, they took part in various quizzes, made Easter decorations, designed a pot herb garden, and learned how to dance at dance workshops. Many Krka’s volunteers presented their skills and hobbies, for example bee keeping, making ornaments, etc. Krka’s firemen presented themselves to the residents of the Novo mesto occupational activity centre. We also arranged a football match for the residents of the same centre. At the Elvira Vatovec education centre from Strunjan we organised a Nordic walking course and the open kitchen.

We helped at animal shelters

Krka volunteers also remembered the animals who had no owners. We collected 500 kg of packed food for dogs and cats which will be donated to animal shelters. This year our volunteers also helped clean the sea lion pool at the Ljubljana Zoo. We also assisted with maintenance work in one of the animal shelters because we know that tidy shelters reflect the culture, level of development and humanity of the entire nation and that animals deserve good living conditions.

Almost 13,000 visitors during the open door days

On Saturday, 8 April, at its central production site in Ločna in Novo mesto Krka organised an open door day and hosted 2,300 visitors – members of the University of the Third Age and Krka’s employees and their family members. On this occasion Krka volunteers made the guests familiar with our company and the development and production of medicines and took them to see the state-of-the-art solid dosage forms production plant Notol 2. We held informative lessons, gave advice on health issues, and measured blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels.

In the six Krka’s open door days we hosted almost 13,000 visitors: children from socially disadvantaged families, pupils from schools with special curriculum, Slovenian mountaineers, Slovenian firemen, and other visitors.

2017 results

  • 1,200 Krka’s volunteers. 100 of them participated in the event for the first time.
  • We collected 3.6 tonnes of clothing, books, toys, and other necessities.
  • 275 Krka’s employees donated more than 123 litres of blood 45 Krka’s employees donated blood for the first time
  • We kept company to the elderly in 35 retirement homes and organised various workshops and  cultural events for them.
  • We helped Caritas and Red Cross prepare 910  food packages and sort clothing and assisted the elderly with cleaning of their homes.
  • We socialised with the residents of 8 occupational activity centres and schools for children with special needs and held various workshops for them.
    We collected more than 500 kg of food for small animals.
  • At an open door day, Krka hosted  2,300 visitors: members of the University of the Third Age, Krka’s employees and their family members and friends.

2012–2017 results

  • In the six campaigns, a total of more than 6,000 Krka employees worked as volunteers.
  • We collected 19.2 tonnes of clothes, food, books, toys, personal hygiene and other necessities for the Red Cross and Caritas.
  • We donated 678 litres of blood.
  • At the premises of the Red Cross and Caritas, we prepared 4,730 food packages.
  • We kept the residents of 35 retirement homes company, and organised various workshops and cultural events for them.
  • We kept the residents of 8 occupational activity centres and other institutions company.   
  • We collected 2.8 tonnes of pet food and helped in two animal shelters.
  • At Krka we hosted more than 13,000 visitors and Krka employees.