In the month of celebration of International Volunteer Day, the “Voluntários em Ação” program, which brings together employees of Hydro, Albras, contracted companies and their families, takes stock of the various actions carried out throughout 2021. Through the “É Hora de Colaborar” campaign (which has an online donation platform and collection of donations in the non-perishable food, personal care items and baby milk units and offices) already add about BRL 12 thousand in benefits; 8.8 tons of food; 2,700 feminine hygiene items and more than 200 babies who received milk for feeding. In total, in 2021, donations benefited 11,400 people, in more than 40 communities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), in the municipalities of Belém, Barcarena, Abaetetuba, Tomé-Açu, Acará and Paragominas, in Pará, and in Rio de January.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused an increase in social and economic inequalities around the world and, in Brazil, according to a survey carried out with the support of Oxfam Brasil Action Aid, hunger grew by 27.6% a year. To minimize the impacts of this scenario on the lives of so many families, the “Voluntários em Ação” program developed a mobilization campaign called “É Hora de Colaborar”. For believing that corporate volunteering can contribute to social transformation in the municipalities where the companies operate.

“The past two years have been challenging for the program because of the pandemic. All previous planning had to be adapted. With the help of everyone involved and more than 2000 volunteer hours, we confirm that it is possible to transform lives with solidarity and dedication. Several initiatives have allowed us to contribute to improving the quality of education and preventing recurrent social problems in communities neighboring our operations. It is comforting to see the result of our work and to conclude that volunteering is much more beneficial for those who do than for those who receive it”, assesses Fadwa Mohamedieh, Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Hydro.

In the “Voluntários em Ação” program, participants dedicate time, skills and resources to develop initiatives aligned with the company's social responsibility strategy and the local needs of the municipalities where Hydro operates. The Company is also a member of the Brazilian Corporate Volunteer Council (CBVE, in Portuguese), an entity that promotes volunteering in the country and abroad, in addition to being a space for sharing and creating experiences.

“Having been engaging volunteers for six years to work in the actions of this program made me see how important this is”, says Daíres Farias, a nursing technician and member of the Volunteer Committee at Hydro Alunorte. The operational analyst and member of the Hydro Paragominas Volunteer Committee, Erika Brito, says that “to be a volunteer is to donate your time, emotion, skill and knowledge in a spontaneous and organized way”.