Volunteer Work Program
Launched in June 2003, the Aracruz Volunteer Program was created to encourage and support the involvement of employees in volunteer activities in the communities and regions where the company operates. The objective is to favor an improvement in the living conditions of the residents of these regions, establishing partnerships with organizations and groups.
The Aracruz Volunteer Work Program is aligned with the company´s strategic objectives and has been contributing towards reinforcing the spirit of citizenship and social responsibility of employees, outsourced service suppliers and their respective family members. The encouragement of volunteer activities lets the people who work for Aracruz demonstrate that, besides being a part of a socially responsible organization, they also are aware and active citizens in their own right.
The Aracruz Volunteer Program is open to the participation of employees and their family members, also including trainees and service suppliers. Currently, the program has more than 400 registered volunteers working out of the Barra do Riacho Unit (ES, BA and SP) and the Guaíba Unit (RS), carrying out actions focused mainly on the fields of education, health and the environment, which are pointed out by the employees themselves as the areas of greatest interest.
In order to organize this work, Aracruz has set up a general committee and a number of regional sub-committees, which coordinate the actions in the various regions that are the targets of the program in Espírito Santo, the south of Bahia, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.
The volunteer work opportunities are publicized to the in-company public through the intranet, bulletin boards and other communication instruments, making it possible for interested employees to sign up and participate.
The main volunteer actions are the following:
The volunteers who participate in the program carry out a series of activities that involve permanent mobilization and actions. In terms of mobilization actions, of particular note are the Solidarity Winter campaign (collection of warm clothing), Solidarity Christmas (collection of foodstuffs), emergency support activities (collection of clothing, mattresses and other items for flood victims), Children´s Day activities, and others.
mportant permanent activities include:
Angels of Happiness
A group of volunteers whose objective is to help speed recovery of patients of the Hospital São Camilo and the Lar do Idoso, both located in Aracruz, bringing them messages of happiness, good humor and support and helping harmonize their environment. Once per month "doctors" Sara, Cura, Pardal and company cheer up patients with their dual-heart stethoscopes ("one for the heart that beats and one for heart that takes a beating"), and humorous equipment, such as gigantic needles, suppositories and ant spray.
Minicompany Program
The Minicompany Program is conducted together with the Junior Achievement NGO, and its objective is to offer participants experience in running a business. Through the setting up and operation of a company, the students understand the complexities and the advantages of the economic system and the market. The companies that are established generally have students from the Aracruz region school system as their "partners," with company employees acting as volunteer consultants.
