Corporate Volunteering

Volunteering CGD

In commemoration of its 149th anniversary, Caixa held, once again, its Volunteering and Active Citizenship Week from 7 to 12 April.

CGD's Volunteering Program encourages solidarity based on two lines of action – employees’ skills and their time commitment – to serve the community.

It aims to promote active citizenship among corporates, with a view to contributing to the socioeconomic development of communities in which the CGD Group operates and to fostering cohesion and internal cooperation.

CGD makes available up to 7 yearly hours for each employee to commit to volunteer work, in a project aiming to gather different volunteering typologies on a yearly basis, so as to allow every employee to participate according to his/her availability and skills.

These initiatives strengthen CGD’s alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, which served as a starting point to identify the needs and assess the initiatives’ results.

Volunteering and Active Citizenship Week - 2nd edition

In commemoration of its 149th anniversary, Caixa held, once again, its Volunteering and Active Citizenship Week from 7 to 12 April. This event included the active participation, as volunteers, of employees from Caixa and from CGD Group’s international entities, namely Banco Caixa Geral Angola - BCGA, Banco Comercial e de Investimentos – BCI in Mozambique, Banco Nacional Ultramarino in Macau, and the East Timor Branch.

The volunteering activities included a range of solidarity initiatives throughout the entire country, including Madeira, the Azores, and the respective regions of the international entities.

The objectives of the Volunteering and Active Citizenship Week are as follows:

To promote solidarity and support for local communities;
To involve Caixa’s employees in impactful actions;
To strengthen bonds between Caixa and social institutions;
To raise awareness about the importance of volunteering and active citizenship.

All initiatives were carefully organized to meet the specific requirements of local communities and included various volunteer and active citizenship activities, such as: renovating community spaces; providing direct support to several institutions through the distribution of food, clothing, hygiene products, and other essential items; cleaning beaches to promote environmental preservation; organizing a solidarity market featuring five social solidarity institutions; and donating €5,000 to the Pediatric Hospital of Coimbra.

Additionally, a total of 249 blood donations were carried out throughout the country (including Madeira and the Azores) in partnership with the Caixa Blood Donors Group and external donors.

Impact of the Volunteering and Active Citizenship Week:

Engagement of 691 volunteers (592 in Portugal and 99 from the Group's international entities);
Commitment of 739 hours of volunteering;
Support for 22 social institutions in Portugal.

The Volunteering Week has proven to be an example of generosity and solidarity, reaffirming Caixa's strong commitment to the community and to social responsibility.

We thank all the volunteers who participated and contributed their time and effort to the success of this initiative.

Watch below the video of the initiatives that took place all over the country.

Together, we can enhance solidarity and build a better future!

Volunteering and Active Citizenship Week 2024

This year, as part of the celebrations of our 148th anniversary (10 April), Caixa has devoted the week of 8 to 13 April to Volunteering and Active Citizenship, promoting several solidarity activities throughout the country, including in the Azores and in Madeira.

Caixa has once again proved its strong commitment to the Community, through the organization of a series of solidarity initiatives across various regions nationwide. Each activity was meticulously planned to meet the specific needs of local communities and, once again, we are proud to say it was a success.

This year, we had 1,285 Caixa Volunteers multiplying solidarity and transforming realities, by supporting 38 Social Institutions across the country, which translates into the highest participation rate ever.

From direct support to food distribution institutions, to the organization of solidarity markets and workshops with the presence of various institutions, and even the preparation of meals for homeless people, Caixa has reiterated its commitment to local communities, with activities that also included cleaning beaches and natural parks, renovating community spaces and supporting several institutions, proving strong social involvement on the part of CGD Volunteers.

Also noteworthy is the work carried out by CGD’s Blood Donor Group, which organized 10 blood donations, from the north to the south of the country, involving CGD’s donors as well as external donors, amounting to a total of 332 donation initiatives – a highly significant number, which corresponds to a significant increase (of 36%) as compared to 2023.

Volunteering activities have also extended to the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, including the preparation of meals for the elderly, on the Corvo island, collections and deliveries of food to families in need, on the Faial island, cleaning the coastline, on the Pico island and renovation of spaces, on the island of Madeira.

Together, we increase solidarity!

Volunteering Day – CGD 2023

To celebrate Caixa’s Volunteering Day (10 April), Caixa "multiplied its solidarity" and dedicated the entire month of April to "Voluntariado Caixa" (Caixa Volunteers), fostering a series of initiatives all over the country with the fundamental objective of creating social value and simultaneously enhancing employees’ participation in corporate and business citizenship.

On 10 April, over 70 employees from different departments of the Head Office Building helped prepare supper for homeless people, in cooperation with Comunidade Vida e Paz. On 15 April, multiple volunteering initiatives were deployed nationwide, mobilizing more than 500 Caixa volunteers and aiming at responding to various social challenges: support disadvantaged families and those with specific needs; support to homelessness; recovery of housing conditions of social welfare entities; collection of foodstuffs, clothes and school supplies. The employees also participated in environmental projects, such as beach cleaning, reforestation, and vegetable planting.
Together we can increase solidarity!

Watch vídeo here (portuguese only).

Volunteering Day – CGD 2022

This year, in which Caixa celebrates its 146th anniversary, employees once again multiplied their solidarity and gave back to society by organizing various solidarity-related initiatives.

Given the exceptional times we are going through, group/individual volunteer initiatives were organized on 30 April, in different areas and places in which approximately 70 volunteers participated, having been able to support 16 social welfare institutions through:

Digital empowerment actions for beneficiaries and employees of social welfare institutions in articulation with the EUSOUDIGITAL Program;
The collection of medical supplies for the Pharmaceutical Bank in pharmacies that are part of the program. The mission of the Pharmaceutical Bank is to help people in need by providing them with medicine and health products, in collaboration with social welfare institutions operating locally and with institutional support from the ANF and the Ordem dos Farmacêuticos (Pharmacists' Association);

Caixa also subscribed for the "Good Deeds Day" initiative, with employees (in groups or individually) having promoted initiatives to support local social institutions for the most disadvantaged.

Another year making a difference together!

Watch vídeo here (portuguese only).

Volunteering Day – CGD 2021

On 10 April, on the 145th anniversary of CGD, we celebrated the third edition of CGD’s Volunteering Day. This edition had, as its main goal, not only to actively respond to the social challenges that were aggravated by the pandemic, but also to uphold the solidarity principles shared among its employees thus contributing to transforming realities and mainly to making a difference in people’s and the community’s lives.

Bearing in mind the exceptional nature of the times we are living, 150 CGD volunteers have multiplied their solidarity and improved people’s lives throughout the whole country, by supporting 24 charities and Environmental institutions across the country, within different spheres of activity, namely:

Fighting hunger, with activities promoted in partnerships with Comunidade Vida e Paz and with CASA – Center for Supporting the Homeless;
Fighting food waste together with Casa do Gaiato;
Environmental awareness-raising in partnership with the Biodiscoveries projects and with the Centro de Interpretação de Monsanto, inter alia.

At the same time, CGD signed up to the initiative “2021 Good Deed Day” and many employees committed to making good deeds living by the principle that everyone can make something positive to improve lives and make a positive impact on the community.

CGD’s signing up to the Good Deed Day has allowed us to strengthen CGD’s Volunteering Day by creating a sequence of positive actions based on each employee’s availability and interest.

Watch vídeo here (portuguese only).

Volunteering Day – CGD 2020

In view of the social impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year CGD’s Volunteering Day was rescheduled for 17 October - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

On this date, CGD’s employees had the opportunity to participate in 11 on-site corporate volunteering initiatives, promoted by local charities across 7 regions: North, Center, Lisbon metropolitan area, Alentejo, Algarve, Azores and Madeira.
At the same time, a nation-wide campaign was promoted, aiming to raise food, school supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), IT equipment and blankets in Portugal’s 18 main cities, in Madeira and in Azores to support social institutions committed to fighting and responding to the impacts of the pandemic.

With the help of approximately 250 employees (on-site volunteering initiatives and supplies raised), 28 charities were supported in the mainland, Azores and Madeira and all safety requirements regarding Covid-19 prevention were complied with.

CGD cooperated with the following institutions: Banco Alimentar contra a Fome, Banco dos Bens Doados, Santa Casa da Misericórdia, Casa do Gaiato, CASA (Center for Supporting the Homeless), CVP (Comunidade Vida e Paz), IAC (Institute for Child Support) and REFOOD.

Considering the country’s current situation in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, CGD’s main purpose was to keep on responding to the Social Economy needs and supporting the most vulnerable fringes of the population that are in dire straits, namely the elderly, children and the homeless.

With this initiative, CGD aimed not only to actively respond to the social challenges aggravated by the pandemic crisis, but also to uphold the social solidarity principles shared by its employees, thus contributing to making a difference in the lives of the population and the communities.

Targets achieved:

Mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira
37 Initiatives
About 250 CGD Volunteers
More than 9Tons of supplies raised

This initiative is an example of CGD’s alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, which served as a starting point to identify the needs and assess the initiatives’ results.

Volunteering Day – CGD 2019

The Corporate Volunteering Program was instituted by CGD on the occasion of CGD’s anniversary, 10 April. However, when it happens on a business day, this event is celebrated on the Saturday immediately after with nation-wide volunteering activities.

On 13 April 2019, CGD’s Volunteering Day was celebrated with 32 volunteering activities on several initiatives created and organized by CGD’s departments, involving 1170 volunteers – employees, their family and friends, local solidarity institutions and communities, gathering people from all over the continent, Azores and Madeira, who have accepted to #MultiplySolidarity.

CGD volunteers took on the challenge of joining a nation-wide mission to carry out activities to support disadvantaged communities with special needs and homeless people, help clean forests and beaches, support reforestation programs, support the restoring of housing conditions for nursery homes and accommodation centers, raise and distribute toys and school material for children living in temporary institutions, thus returning to society and the communities the trust invested in the Portuguese benchmark Bank.

Watch vídeo here (portuguese only).

Caixadirecta

Caixadirecta