In 2012, the Evraz Charity Fund will donate CZK 8.9 million to support non-profit projects in the Moravian-Silesian Region

5.1.2012

In 2012, the Evraz Charity Fund will donate CZK 8.9 million to support non-profit projects in the Moravian-Silesian Region

Ostrava. Fifty representatives mainly of non-profit organizations from the Moravian-Silesian Region met with the leadership of the Evraz Charity Fund (ECF) to sign donation agreements in a summary value of CZK 8.9 million for support of their activities. From the total of 149 applications received, the Fund's Board of Trustees selected 60 projects whose aim is to help the Moravian-Silesian Region mainly in the area of support for handicapped children, education and sports. This was the first year when the projects included those nominated by the employees of the Fund founder, i.e., EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL. ECF, which celebrated the 5th anniversary this year, is part of global activities of socially responsible company EVRAZ Group.

The range of successful applicants for money from ECF includes organizations from Ostrava as well as from other places within the Moravian-Silesian Region: Bruntál, Opava, Nový Jičín, Havířov, Frýdek-Místek, Český Těšín, and other places. The main focus of these organizations is to provide help to handicapped children, especially children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but the organizations are focusing also on support of standard and special education of children in kindergartens, in elementary schools or in high schools.  The grants for individual projects are in a range of tens to hundreds of thousands crowns. The scope of supported projects covers less expensive projects like canine therapy, hippotherapy or purchase of positioning equipment and baby-carriages for users with severe handicaps as well as more expensive projects like purchasing a vehicle for transport of immobile schoolchildren or support of the 5th Winter Olympic Games for Children and Youth, CR 2012. "This year the quantity of applications that we received and evaluated and the quantity of evaluated projects was record braking since the foundation of the Fund. We are glad that the importance of the Evraz Charity Fund in the region is increasing," said Petr Medvedík, a member of the Board. Many of the beneficiary organizations obtained money from ECF already several times in the past. "Long-term support from the Evraz Charity Fund is very important for our clients. Thanks to this support the children and young people with severe health handicaps living in Benjamin have the opportunity to use their time in a meaningful way to develop their personalities and improve quality of their lives," said Darja Kuncová, directress of a charity organization Benjamin in Petřvald.

This year, for the first time, a donation could be given also to employees of EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL. A precondition was an active participation of the applicant-employee on the implementation of the project. The applications received were evaluated first by the Advisory Committee that was elected by the representatives of the employees and representatives of the trade union which subsequently recommended the selected projects for approval by the ECF board of trustees. In summary the employees obtained almost CZK 180 000 for their projects.

EVRAZ Group provides help through charity foundations established by the company and managed by local boards of trustees. They are focusing on improving living conditions in the regions in which subsidiaries of EVRAZ Group have their operations. The particular focus of this help is based on the nature of needs in the individual regions. In Russia and Czech Republic the company has charity funds supporting mainly children with special needs, primarily children afflicted with cerebral palsy. In North America, EVRAZ Group together with non-profit organizations helps to support solution of various problems such as domestic violence or drug abuse, but the Group also supports educational initiatives and programs helping needy people. Very specific help is in South Africa, where EVRAZ through EVRAZ Higveld eMalehleni Community Forum focuses on long-term support projects primarily focused on social development, education and healthcare.This support also includes a very interesting project in the village of Makwana that uses alternative agricultural possibilities to assist basic nutrition in a place with lack of water.

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For more information contact:
Crest Communications Ostrava
Jaromír Krišica
Tel.: +420 603 543 572
press@cz.evraz.com

The Evraz Charity Fund, whose founder is EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL, was established in  2006 in order to support the long-term development of the Moravian-Silesian Region. The Fund focuses on projects from the social and health care area, science and education, culture and sports. Since its foundation until the year 2011, the Fund supported projects with a total amount of CZK 53 million.

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