- The organization carried out a total of 37 projects, which focused on social, environmental and scientific-educational areas
- With these actions, it reaffirms its responsibility to the Islands' society
These data were released this morning in a virtual meeting attended by Cepsa’s head of Corporate Relations in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, Jesús Velasco, and the head of Fundación Cepsa in the Islands, Belén Machado.
Jesús Velasco highlighted the involvement of Fundación Cepsa with the islands since its creation in 2016 and emphasized the work being carried out by the organization to channel all social actions. He added that these initiatives also have an important scope of action, taking into account that last year they indirectly reached 58,281 people, playing a fundamental role in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable groups, while at the same time promoting sustainability and care for the environment and fostering the scientific-educational field.
For her part, Belén Machado emphasized the effort made to attend to the needs of the time, as was the case this year with the eruption on La Palma, enabling the necessary mechanisms to cover the most urgent matters. He also highlighted the work being carried out by Fundación Cepsa, since its creation in 2016, in supporting the actions carried out by social organizations, as well as the collaboration that is evident with the different administrations.
In the past year, Fundación Cepsa allocated a total of 302,722 euros in direct aid to NGOs, associations, and institutions in the Canary Islands. In addition to the projects carried out, there were six initiatives corresponding to Cepsa's volunteer program, Voluntas, and the donations made by the company's professionals in different areas.
Social projects accounted for most of the actions, with a total of 26, aimed at promoting the welfare of different groups and encouraging healthy lifestyles. In addition, seven environmental projects were developed, focusing on biodiversity conservation, natural heritage rehabilitation and education and environmental awareness. Education, employability, research development, and innovation in the energy and industrial sector were the focus of the four scientific-educational projects carried out.
Social support
The Social Value Awards are the most emblematic action of Fundación Cepsa in this field, focused on carrying out social projects aimed at vulnerable groups and promoting solidarity values among the company's professionals.
In last year's edition, the awards went to six organizations, including the Spanish Red Cross, with the project 'SOS La Palma', focused on meeting the needs of people who are in a situation of extreme vulnerability or social exclusion due to the eruption of the volcano. CEAR Canarias joined in with the 'Itinerary' initiative to support personalized itineraries that favor the social integration of refugees, asylum seekers, displaced persons and immigrants.
The action 'Volunteering in first person,' of the Mental Health Federation of the Canary Islands, was another of the award winners, to promote volunteering in this associative network with the support of those affected. The 'Voces' project of the Asociación de Reinserción Social de Menores Anchieta was another of those chosen with the aim of giving visibility to the victims of machista violence through the performing arts.
Additionally, the Nahia Assistance Association's 'Linguistic and Cultural Inclusion Program,' is committed to creating adapted learning spaces for young migrants arriving in the Canary Islands. While the Hemophilia Association of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (AHETE) project 'Know my life, know my hemophilia' will meet the demand from those affected by this pathology to normalize the disease in society, through personal experience.
In addition to these six actions, the Asociación de Cuidadores, Familiares y Amigos de Personas con Dependencia, Alzheimer y otras Demencias (Acufade), which won a Special Employee Award, will create a care unit for mild cognitive impairment in La Matanza, Tenerife.
Since the beginning of these awards, 575,000 euros have been distributed in the Canary Islands, which have allowed 62 solidarity projects to become a reality.
Another of last year's most relevant social interventions was the signing of an agreement with the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, through the Municipal Institute of Social Services (IMAS), to carry out eight programs focused on improving the quality of life of the most disadvantaged sectors of the capital of Tenerife.
In this case, a total of 6,179 residents of the capital city benefited directly from initiatives aimed at psychosocial transformation, access to basic necessities, the elderly, the promotion of activities for people with functional diversity or care for children from vulnerable families.
In addition, fuel cards worth 10,000 euros were delivered to 53 NGOs in the municipality to collaborate in the transfer of food and other services related to COVID-19. In addition, 16 tons of consumer products were delivered to the Food Bank of Tenerife.
Last year, the island of La Palma received a special mention, where Fundación Cepsa, in collaboration with the Red Cross, launched a psychosocial intervention project to help those affected by the volcano eruption. In this case, a total of 190 people benefited directly and 570 indirectly.
Another of the social actions was linked to the continuation of the program 'Immerse yourself in Santa Cruz', with the creation of two murals, one on Avenida San Sebastián, dedicated to immigration, and the other outside the CEIP Los Verodes, with the active participation of the school's 140 students.
Fundación Cepsa and the Santa Cruz Basketball Club carried out a collaboration program through ten children's schools, in which 250 children participated, as well as two multi-sport camps. In addition, there was a new action to promote diversity and inclusion among young people through talks on different aspects, such as the experience of African migrant children, athletes with functional diversity, as well as the presence of women in sports.
The collaboration with the Red Cross for the transportation of disabled people to the beach of Las Teresitas to enjoy the adapted bathing service, completes the actions developed in social matters.
Commitment to sustainability
Fundación Cepsa intensified its actions in the last year to preserve the environment and move towards sustainability. Among them, its support for the recovery of Las Mesas Park, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in collaboration with the City Council of the capital of Tenerife, through the Sustainable Santa Cruz Foundation and experts from the University of La Laguna. This action is aimed at rehabilitating and reforesting this environment, after making an inventory of the natural and plant heritage, in addition to restoring its public use. The initiative has also allowed for the participation in these tasks of 30 students of the IES El Sobradillo from the forestry and natural environment management and agro-gardening cycles.
It also participated with the Sustainable Santa Cruz Foundation in various environmental actions such as the 'Pequehuertos' initiative to promote healthy eating and sustainable consumption through local products, which reached more than a thousand schoolchildren from Chicharras, and the program of guided family visits to the Palmetum of Tenerife, which exceeded 400 participants.
Fundación Cepsa also collaborated with the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council in the remodeling of the Nuestra Señora de África market traffic circle to turn it into a sustainable garden, also creating the first space in the city dedicated to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, there are various underwater and land activities to clean the coast of Chicharras, as well as guided tours to learn about the trails of the Anaga Massif.
The organization participated in the elaboration of a study, pioneer in its field in the islands, aimed at knowing the impact of microplastics in the sediments of the seabed of the Canary Islands. An action that was accompanied by the celebration of a 'Women Scientists Day', to give a voice to this group through their personal experiences and professional careers, as well as the outreach campaign 'SOS Sea Turtles' to inform the public about the real problems of ocean pollution and its impact on this endangered species.
Educational scientific field
Fundación Cepsa's Chair of Ecological Transition and Innovation of the ULL brought together a large part of the actions in the scientific-educational field, with its program aimed at promoting research, training, and dissemination in the areas covered by the Chair. At the end of last year, this organization renewed its management, with Elena Pastor, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of La Laguna, taking over as head.
One of the initiatives developed focused on sponsoring the second industrial doctoral thesis of the University of La Laguna and the first of the Chair, focused on obtaining biofuels from the hydroprocessing of cooking oils and other non-food fats.
This was complemented by a training program with master classes and workshops on alternative energy sources for a sustainable circular economy, the ecological transition and energy efficiency and the circular economy.
In addition, of not is the presence in the informative project 'Chicas con Cienci@ULL', of the General Foundation of the University of La Laguna, an initiative that emphasizes the promotion of scientific and technological vocations among young women in the Canary Islands, with a view to advancing equal opportunities. The action includes a program of orientation, motivational, and educational activities in schools to help improve students' academic performance and increase their interest in pursuing university studies to improve their job prospects, as well as an informative audiovisual series with the testimony of 24 female researchers in different areas who share their experience.
Another novelty was the launch of the 'ProTraining' scholarships, aimed at improving the competitiveness of the productive fabric through qualification and specialization. The initiative is aimed at supporting students in Basic, Middle, or Higher Vocational Training with economic difficulties with the costs of tuition, school supplies, books, transportation, food, and other expenses associated with their studies, with contributions of 2,500 euros. In this case, of the 57 scholarships awarded, 13 went to students from Tenerife.
