ALTIDO Charity Initiatives: UNICEF, Treedom and Lisbon Project

Donating money to children in Ukraine, helping Syrian refugees in Portugal and planting trees in Africa: ALTIDO has been involved in charity projects all over the world. Here are several examples of how the company is making a difference and what personal stories are behind these changes.

Lisbon Project
https://lisbonproject.org

About the organisation
Lisbon Project is a non-profit organisation that helps with the integration of refugees and migrants arriving in Portugal. The organisation is privately funded and mostly volunteer-led. Lisbon Project assists people from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, India, and, since recently, also Ukraine with various tasks such as document translation, Portuguese language classes, creating CVs and providing legal aid. Maybe most importantly, volunteers also organise various events and create a sense of community to make people of different cultures feel welcome in their new home.

How ALTIDO got involved
ALTIDO was one of the sponsors and organisers of a football tournament among several corporate teams in Lisbon. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about refugees and get some financial help, as each team donates a certain amount of money to the project. The next tournament will happen in Lisbon in November 2022, don’t miss it if you are around!

Story behind it
Tom Archer, Managing Director for ALTIDO Portugal, who moved to Lisbon from London in 2020, said, “My wife Tamara works for the Lisbon Project, and she was a social worker in the UK as well. Her mother is from Iraq, and a lot of members of her family were refugees in different countries as well, so they experienced first-hand what it’s like. That’s how I learned about them, and now I know the founders pretty well. I just thought we could help.”

How you can help
If you live in Lisbon, check the project’s volunteer page to see how you can get involved: https://lisbonproject.org/get-involved/volunteer.
There are different ways you can participate: some people volunteer just a little bit of time, and others help regularly. You can choose what’s best for you. People with experience in charity and nonprofits are especially welcome to join.

Treedom
treedom.net

About the organisation
Treedom is a platform that allows people to plant trees in different countries and then follow them online. Every tree on Treedom is geo-localised, photographed and has its online page. As it’s growing, the owner gets its pictures and an annual report on how much CO2 it absorbs.

How ALTIDO got involved
In 2021 ALTIDO paid for 200 cacao trees to be planted in Cameroon. By 2031 they will form ALTIDO forest that will have absorbed an estimated 10,000kg of CO2 from the atmosphere, significantly helping to offset our carbon footprint.

Story behind it
Massimiliano Cervetto, Head of Operations for ALTIDO Liguria, explained:
“I have a goddaughter, a little girl. On the girl's first birthday, her mom gave me a tree in Zaire as a gift so that it will grow as my goddaughter is growing. I liked the idea, and I thought we could do something similar as a company.
When I was 15 or 16 years old, all my friends were talking about cars, bikes, and motors; they knew everything about them. And I asked: “What do you think is more important, to know the names of the cars you don’t have or the names of the trees around you?” When I started to learn the names of the trees, I found a whole new universe. As for the cars, I still don’t have one. Trees protect life on the planet and stay around for centuries, while cars you only use for several years.”

How you can help
If having a tree with your name growing somewhere and knowing that you helped the planet a little sounds like fun, you can get in touch with ALTIDO, and we will be happy to assist. Another way is to go directly to the Treedom website, where you can choose what kind of tree you would like to plant and where.

UNICEF
Unicef.org

About the organisation
UNICEF, or United Nations Children's Fund, is one of the major and most trustworthy charity organisations in the world. Its main purpose is to provide humanitarian aid to children worldwide, and it relies entirely on voluntary contributions from governments and private donors.

How ALTIDO got involved
In spring 2022, when UNICEF launched the campaign aiming to help children in Ukraine, ALTIDO’s CEO, William Parry, encouraged all employees to make a contribution stating that the company would match the donations to double the sum and therefore lead to a greater impact. As a result, the company sent more than £2,000 to UNICEF.

Story behind it
William Parry remembered:
“Back in February 2022, when we read the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine, it was particularly shocking for us as European citizens. A war on your doorstep impacted me and my colleagues in a deeply emotional way. You put yourself in the shoes of these people who are under attack and start thinking about how you can respond and support them. My initial reaction was, “Ok, I’ll head over there, get on the flight, go to Poland and see what we can do.” I was quickly informed this would not be particularly helpful. So instead, I decided to donate to charity. In moments like this, a collective response can often help people process the challenging emotions they are faced with. We decided as a company to match all employees’ donations to increase our collective impact. Sadly the war is unlikely to be over shortly, and so we will continue to support UNICEF’s Ukraine campaign.”

How you can help
Anyone can donate through the UNICEF website. It’s possible to send money singularly or every month. You can find more information about the campaign and contribute here: https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/war-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children