The worldwide Caring Hands Program, focusing on public welfare, provides the framework and point of departure for our employees’ voluntary activities, monetary donations and contributions in kind for worthy causes and partnerships with non-profit organisations. Based on the know-how and support of our employees on the one hand and on Siemens’ core competencies as a provider of infrastructure technologies and solutions on the other, Siemens Caring Hands aims to help improve living standards worldwide.
Siemens employees support worthy causes by devoting time and applying knowledge to assist their communities. Projects, which are selected on the basis of criteria set out in our Volunteering Guidelines, should benefit children and young people, improve education or assist disadvantaged groups in society. Volunteering activities are also an effective way to increase team spirit and improve long-term communication and cooperation.
The Siemens Youthspace project to provide a safe haven for children living on the streets has provided shelter, nourishment, education and the prospect of a secure future for many young girls and boys for more than ten years. From humble beginnings in Hillbrow in Johannesburg, the project has been expanded, with houses bought, equipped, furnished and staffed in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and more recently KwaZulu-Natal.
Supported by Siemens staff and by contributions from an executive fund, Youthspace offers a home under the supervision of a caregiver who makes sure the children are well fed and that their physical, mental and spiritual needs are taken care of.
Partnering with non-profit welfare organisations, the company strongly believes it is making a tangible difference in the lives of those children living in a Youthspace house. With a cumulative investment of approximately R4 million over the last few years, Siemens is able to provide a long term sustainable future for many children who suffered extreme hardship and deprivation.
Partnering together with the National Association for the Blind, Siemens has over the years donated much needed equipment, including Braille machines for the education of the visually impaired.
Since January 2003, the partnership between Siemens AG of Germany and UNICEF has supported young people all over the world, independent of gender, religion, nationality or other attributes. Siemens is currently supporting UNICEF’s Schools for Africa initiative which includes a focus on South Africa and aims to accelerate access to quality basic education for children, with a special focus on girls, orphans and vulnerable children. Through the contributions of its employees to the programme, Siemens provides financial support towards the construction and reconstruction of schools, development of training programmes for teachers and the provision of education materials.