An initiative that makes a difference
The European Excellence Awards are informally known among some as the Oscars of European Communication. Every year, this competition attracts considerable attention among many international companies, agencies and organisations. This year, over 700 participants competed for awards highlighting Europe's best in a number of nominations – these participants include Samsung, Coca-Cola, L'Oreal, Mercedes-Benz, and DHL. Entries were judged by an international jury comprised of nearly 30 market professionals. The top prize in the internal communication category was awarded to the SBA Group Volunteering Wave – this took place in Lithuania in 2021. At the award ceremony in Berlin, the jury representatives emphasised that development of communication projects helped to ensure that those who have made a real difference in society earned particular significance.
„We started this wave of volunteering having been inspired by the empathy and unity shown by our colleagues during the pandemic when we visited thousands of elderly people all over Lithuania with food. We proceeded to create a platform designed to encourage colleagues, and their families, and communities and businesses to engage in good deeds while also sending the message that volunteering can be diverse and meaningful. We are ranked among Europe's best – this shows that large international agencies and small communications teams are capable of fuelling strong initiatives geared toward positive change. We are proud of all our volunteers, and we certainly have no intentions of stopping – and the tide of good deeds continues to roll in,“ said Giedrius Simonavičius, the head of the SBA Group's Communications and Marketing Department.
More than 140 initiatives
The Volunteering Wave is an initiative of the SBA Group, in which its more than 30 companies initiate various volunteering activities in all of the regions of Lithuania. The Group's employees participate together with families, community groups, businesses, and schools and universities. Over two and a half years, the company's volunteers have organised more than 140 initiatives; over 2,800 volunteers have joined them and they have carried out almost 11,000 hours of good deeds.
Volunteers organise campaigns throughout Lithuania – from Visaginas and Utena to Vilnius, Kaunas, Raseiniai, Šilutė, and the Klaipėda region. Over the past years, they have been helping lonely seniors with household chores or preparing for the winter, or spending time with children, teenagers, or people with disabilities, or contributing to the welfare of homeless animals by repairing shelters and making beds and kennels. The SBA's autumn dune-fixing campaign at the seaside, Dunes Need You, has become something of a local tradition, having attracted over 500 volunteers over the last three years. Over the spring, the company's team gathered for the SBA Woodshed: an event in which more than 40,000 trees were planted throughout Lithuania.
