Fundación EDPNews

This evening, Oviedo, where the EDP Foundation has its headquarters, has hosted the presentation of the projects selected in EDP Solidaria 2016, that will receive overall financial support worth 400.000 euros in order to implement their proposals for social improvement. The heads of the EDP Foundation, Manuel Menéndez and Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, and of the EDP Group, as well as the Minister of Social Services and Rights in the Principality of Asturias, Pilar Varela Díaz attended the event.

This is the second year that this initiative has been launched, which aims to help to improve the quality of life enjoyed by everyone and to integrate the underprivileged. In this respect, EDP Solidaria has increased the number of selected projects with respect to 2015 (15 projects in 2016 as against 11 last year) and has increased the financial award by 16%.

As Manuel Menéndez stressed, EDP Solidaria is an “innovative project to support social transformation” that meets the aims of a EDP Foundation “committed to local communities to achieve the sustainable development of society”.

The figures shown by EDP Solidaria reveal the growing interest in this initiative, as overall 49 proposals were submitted, from which 15 projects have been selected. Their geographical distribution is as follows: 6 are from the Principality of Asturias, 4 from the Community of Madrid, 3 from the Basque Country, and one from Catalonia and Murcia, respectively.

The Project selection committee has been made up of the heads of different areas of the EDP group and their implementation will be supervised by managers and volunteers from the company. It is estimated that the selected proposals will potentially benefit 17,262 people, compared to 6,537 in 2015.

• Geographical scope of the projects
• Call for projects for EDP Solidaria 2017
• Pictures

Geographical scope of the projects

The selected associations that have had the opportunity to publically present their projects today in Oviedo are as follows:

From the Principality of Asturias, Fundación Universidad de Oviedo, with the “Social Genomics: identifying the genetic causes of minority illnesses” project; Asociación Parkinson Asturias, with the “Comprehensive care for Parkinson’s sufferers” project; Accem Asturias, with the “Psychosocial Rehabilitation through Therapeutic Gardening in the Hevia Residential Centre” project; Asociación de Padres y Amigos de Cardiopatías Congénitas, with the “Zips” project; Es Retina Asturias, with the “We look out for you: autonomous life with poor eyesight. Rehabilitation, psychosocial care and increasing autonomy” project; and Asociación Internacional Teléfono de la Esperanza, with the “Support programme for people at risk of suicide” project.

From the Community of Madrid, Asociación Espiral Loranca, with the “Ubuntu II project to strengthen basic skills for minors at risk of social exclusion”; Apostólicas CJ – Comunidad de Obras Sociales, with the “make yourself visible, make me visible. Programme to raise awareness, detect and care for female victims of domestic violence over the age of 65” project; Fundación Tomillo, with the “Roof gardens: green jobs for youngsters at risk of exclusion” project; and Fundación Personas y Empresas, with the “refugees and companies; Human Resources volunteers for professional alignment” project.

From the Basque Country, Centro de Acogida Lagun Artean, with the “Renovation and Energy efficiency for the Aize Onak farmhouse for the homeless” project; Aspanovas Bizkaia, with the “Providing leisure, workshops and welfare activities for children and teenagers with cancer and relatives at Las Cruces University Hospital” project; and Cáritas Diocesana de Bilbao, with the “Etxepel” project.

From Catalonia, Fundación Soñar Despierto, with the “Social and educational care for children and teenagers at risk of exclusion” project; and from Murcia, Fundación Acción contra el Hambre, with the “JUMP; take the plunge and get ready for employment and self-employment” project.

Call for projects for EDP Solidaria 2017

The EDP Foundation, that in 2015 and 2016 earmarked 3.7 million euros for supporting educational, cultural, environmental and social development initiatives, has now announced the call for projects for EDP Solidaria 2017. Manuel Menéndez announced that the total endowment will increase by 44%, to amount to 575,000 euros, and he encouraged all the associations to submit new projects. The period for submitting projects will be open from the 1st to the 31st of March 2017.

As a general rule, the proposals to be submitted must be linked to the most pressing social needs, such as support for the socially deprived, the integration of communities at risk of social exclusion and the promotion of employment and entrepreneurship.

Pictures