Communities
Tom Wilhelmsen foundation
The Tom Wilhelmsen foundation has a long-standing tradition of sponsoring measures of cultural and scientific nature every year. In 2017, the foundation continued it’s long term support (since 2005) for Right To Play, a humanitarian organisation that uses sports and play as an arena for children’s development. It also signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with the Emergency Medicine student association in Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø and Oslo. In addition, the foundation contributed to projects within the field of opera and ballet.
Employee initiatives in 2017
The Houston office rallied together to collect new toys for donation for an organisation called Toys for Tots. This organisation is facilitated by the US Marine Corps Reserves to collect and distribute Christmas presents for less fortunate children in the community. The community action programme takes place in almost 800 communities in all 50 States.
The Kuala Lumpur office sponsored the planting of 100 trees to increase greenery in the city. The sponsorship is part of the city's efforts under the Economic Transformation Programme to transform Kuala Lumpur into a world-class and top liveable city by 2020. The aim is to reach 100 000 new trees planted in and around Kuala Lumpur the next five years.
The Bangkok office gathered more than 200 kindergarten and primary school students for an art activity. The activity took place at Beaumont Ruampattana School in the rural town of the Chaiyaphum province. Coming together and working as a team outside the office was a great experience for our employees, and doing so while also contributing to our local community made it even more meaningful.
The Busan office marked the their 12th anniversary by visiting a children’s home in Busan. A wooden step was made to help the children reach higher ground and old furniture were painted and renovated. In addition, eight benches were donated to the children’s playground.
The Durban and Richards Bay offices have been part of the ICare initiative since 2012, an initiative whose motive is to give children from unstable backgrounds a home and safe environment. The office has invited the children on different activities, including taking them for a tour to the 2010 Durban World Cup stadium, inviting them to the office, and giving them football kits. During the celebration of Mandela Day 2017, some of the staff dedicated their time to nurture and care for the babies and toddlers at the Holah House and Ikaya Likababa. These are non profit organisations based in Durban and Richards Bay, that gives a home to abandoned babies and children. In addition, items sponsored by our employees were given to the houses. Employees have also spent their lunch hour to distribute soup to the elderly at TAFTA, a non profit organisation dedicated to serving the needs of the elderly.
Our employees in Kenya took the initiative to help 250 girls stay in school for a whole year. In a country where getting food on the table is the highest priority, having sanitary pads becomes a luxury. Evidently one of the reasons African girls drop out of school and thousands miss school every month. Representatives from our office visited the school located remotely in Kilifi county north of Mombasa, heard the girls’ stories and distributed the supplies.
In France, the local office is a financial sponsor of the local entity ‘Sauveteurs de La Mer’ (Sea Rescuers) to support the organisation in acquiring and maintaining equipment and to train the rescue teams. In Germany, the office contributed financially to support the production of a children’s traffic book made by the local police.