- The organization promotes the environmental restoration of land affected by the fire that devastated Tenerife last summer
- Around twenty people with disabilities benefit from this social and labor inclusion project
The project is benefiting around twenty people with disabilities from Envera, who are receiving training in soil and crop recovery techniques, enabling them to improve their qualifications and employment opportunities.
During the visit, Belén Machado, head of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, emphasized that "the education promoted by this project not only has a positive impact on the training of the participants and their future employment possibilities but also contributes to the environmental regeneration of Tenerife. In this case, it involves burned land in Tacoronte affected by the devastating fire that Tenerife endured last summer. We want to generate a positive impact on the community, and enabling projects like this to be brought to life through the Social Value Awards is the best way to do this," she said.
Envera's mission is to support people with disabilities so that they can take their place in the world with dignity, working for their social and labor inclusion. For Ana Serafín, the person in charge of education and of this project in Tenerife, who was present at the meeting, "receiving an award from Fundación Cepsa is a tremendous boost for us, which has enabled us to launch an essential project for the recovery of our environment and the improvement of our students' employability."
"Fundación Cepsa's collaboration, with the support of the project's solidarity sponsor, Carlos Belenguer, allows us to make known what we do and amplify our impact," Serafín asserted.
The project, which lasts five months, began in mid-April and includes both classroom instruction on the soil and crops, and practical work on a ten thousand square meter agricultural plot, of which four thousand square meters are designated for reclamation.
In the first two months, participants have learned essential theoretical knowledge about soil composition, analysis, and management, as well as about the recovery of agricultural crops. They have also begun practical work in the field, clearing and cleaning 1,500 square meters to date, and have prepared 1,000 square meters for planting grain crops. In addition, they will soon begin with training and trials to make natural soaps with ashes from the fire, another aspect of this Fundación Cepsa Social Value Award-winning project, which will be donated to organizations that support the homeless.
About Envera
Envera, which was founded 47 years ago by the company Iberia, accompanies people with disabilities, basically intellectual, on the journey of their lives, with early care, school support and training, job placement, and employment, leisure, culture and sports, as well as assistance in residences, occupational centers and day centers for people with significant support needs.
In the different locations where they are established in Spain, including Tenerife and Gran Canaria, Envera assists 4,800 people with disabilities and their families every year and provides stable and protected employment to more than 850 people, half of them with intellectual disabilities.
Upcoming visits to 2023 winners
Fundación Cepsa will soon visit the other winning organizations of the most recent edition of the Social Value Awards in the Canary Islands: Atelsam Mental Health Association, Provivienda, Save The Children Foundation, and Asperger-TEA Canary Islands (AsperCan).
Social Value Awards
These annual awards, which began in 2005, are one of the stand-out initiatives of Fundación Cepsa. They are held in the Canary Islands, Madrid, Huelva, Campo de Gibraltar, Portugal, and Colombia, and are aimed at supporting disadvantaged people, groups and sectors, in addition to promoting solidarity values by involving Cepsa's professionals, who sponsor the projects presented by the non-profit organizations.
In the Canary Islands, a total of 74 projects have already been recognized as part of these awards, with a contribution of 712,000 euros from Fundación Cepsa in the Islands.
The period for submitting entries to the 2024 competition will launch at the beginning of September.