Mécénat Servier joins the International Human Solidarity Day
Once again this year, the commitment of the Mécénat Servier Charity Fund is especially echoed on the occasion of the International Human Solidarity Day, celebrated on December 20th throughout the world. Here is a closer look at the most emblematic initiatives of the last 12 months.
Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2006, International Human Solidarity Day reminds nations each year of the need to show mutual aid and cooperation towards the most disadvantaged ones in order to build a better world, based on equity and social justice.
“These are fundamental values that the Mécénat Servier Charity Fund recognizes, as reflected in its mission Committed to solidarity”, underlines Corinne Massin, Director of Corporate Philanthropy and General Delegate of Mécénat Servier Charity Fund. “From the outset, we have been committed to meeting the needs of vulnerable or disadvantaged populations, affected by illness or by problems of integration or education.”
More than 30 community partnerships have been set up to enable Servier employees to fully enact their commitment to solidarity in the areas of health, education, culture and living together. Whether you want to give time or money, be involved locally or on the other side of the world, all initiatives are welcome and supported by Mécénat Servier, which offers its employees skills-based sponsorship, Congé Solidaire® (international solidarity mission), L’ARRONDI sur salaire (rounding down salary) and solidarity seminars.
Beyond the everyday, some events generate a broader outpouring of solidarity. This is the case with the war in Ukraine, which has been disrupting the world since the spring of 2022. Victoria Vandzhura, a Servier employee of Ukrainian origin, has been particularly involved in supporting the local populations affected by the war as well as displaced persons in France:
“I learned that the Servier Group was mobilizing to implement a Ukraine Solidarity Fund under the aegis of Mécénat Servier in order to participate in the “Fonds de concours Entreprises1 of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs”. With a group of colleagues, and in collaboration with Mécénat Servier, we then proposed to extend the collection to all Group employees worldwide. Our initiative was approved and supported by the Executive Committee, which decided to double the amount collected per employee. We are very grateful to them. I also helped organize a collection of food and personal care products led by Mécénat Servier. The Ukrainian population is deeply touched by the solidarity of Western citizens and governments who are committed to helping them through this ordeal.”
Philippe Malet, Director of Servier’s Central and Eastern Europe Sector, recalls with emotion the actions carried out at the initiative of the Servier Ukraine teams and the subsidiaries located in the countries of the region:
“The outpouring of solidarity has been tremendous, not only towards the Servier Ukraine teams, but also towards the entire population. It was immediate and uncompromising, coming from all teams, and was not limited to neighboring countries. At the height of the crisis, more than a hundred Servier Ukraine employees left the country and were able to find accommodation with their families in their host country. Even today, we continue to take care of the reception of employees who wish to continue to be accommodated abroad. In addition, many financial and material donations (clothing, medicines, toys, etc.) have been made to Ukrainian NGOs, at the instigation of both employees and management.”
Both a moral value and a fraternal impulse, solidarity inspires more than ever the daily action of Mécénat Servier and, more broadly, of the Servier Group.
- 1. Action launched by the French government to collect financial contributions from companies wishing to express their solidarity in emergency situations abroad. ↩︎
