Section SOCIETY
TOPIC

DIAGEO HELLAS

"Proud of what we do"

Our employees taking part in Diageo's social contribution made our company's core value "Proud of what we do", a reality. With this initiative, Diageo has sought to strengthen its ties within Greek society where it operates, with the active participation of its employees who joined forces towards a common goal, had fun and came closer while seeing the direct effect of their contribution, feeling the joy of volunteering and further strengthening their sense of pride for being part of the Diageo Hellas team.

Diageo employees, Ark of the World, The Smile of the Child, Society

In the context of its Social Responsibility strategy, on Friday 11 July 2014, Diageo Hellas conducted two volunteer actions in Athens and Thessaloniki, supporting the organisations "The Ark of the World" and "The Smile of the Child", respectively. The first major initiative in Athens, involved the landscaping, planting, clearing, cleaning and painting of the Ark of the World's summer camp site in Rafina, where the Organization's children are hosted during summer months. In the same day, Diageo employees in Thessaloniki sorted various items and clothing articles at the Smile of the Child, Thessaloniki chapter, and also helped improve the outdoor spaces of the Organisation's "Children and Family Support Centre".

Almost all Diageo employees participated in the two actions, and were very happy and in a great mood to help these Organisations that offer outstanding social work to society, while discovering the joy of volunteering. The above actions were coupled with a drive for the collection of clothing, food and consumables during Christmas period, while plans for Easter include a bazaar with employee - contributed items, again to support the above causes.

This action will be added to the overall volunteering mobilisation of Diageo Western Europe and will be recorded in our common internet platform. Meanwhile, the company's leadership is looking into possible incentives to enhance volunteering, expected to be announced on the occasion of the Easter bazaar mobilisation.

I. Organisation "Kivotos tou Kosmou" (Ark of the World): A Non-Profit Organisation for Special Care and the Protection of Mothers and Children, caring for neglected and abandoned children, with no medical care, no future prospects, most coming from single-parent families, many without parents.

II. Organisation "Hamogelo tou Pediou" (The Smile of the Child): A non-profit volunteer organisation whose main concern is defending children's rights, not just on paper but in practice as well, and securing all that is necessary for their physical, mental, and psychological balance.

Results were very positive, since the 120 employees who participated in the action, being particularly proud and happy for all they achieved through their voluntary contribution, managed to offer substantial and valuable assistance to two Non-Governments Organisations offering such important work.

So, in the Ark's summer camp, buildings and surrounding spaces were cleaned and also painted, so as to welcome the youngsters in a decent and safe environment. Meanwhile, all the items that the Smile of the Child, and in particular the "Children and Family Support Centre", has been offered (food and clothing) were neatly sorted and organised in order to better and more conveniently meet the needs of all people turn to it for assistance.

Finally, the fact that employees feel proud of the company and its interventions on the level of society, is also recorded in the values survey, where 93% of employees fully agreed with the statement "Diageo makes a true contribution to the society where it operates".

Diageo Hellas is recognised as a responsible corporate citizen and its people, through their volunteer action, were able to practice once again, the "proud of what we do" value. The difficult conditions in Greece, create the need for companies to stand in solidarity by the weakest citizen groups, in order to protect social cohesion and help everyone live in a human and safe society. For this reason, Diageo seeks to have a social contribution in order to support such groups as far as it's possible.