TELUS International continues partnership with Habitat for Humanity to complete the construction of the Buftea Community Center

By TELUS International

We can’t move mountains, but each year we try during our TELUS Days of Giving, the annual volunteering event focused on giving back to the community where we live, work and serve. This was the seventh edition of the event in Romania and we continued our partnership with Habitat for Humanity to complete the construction of the Buftea Community Center, a project they initiated in 2018. The facility will serve underprivileged youth in the local community by facilitating access to educational support and help prevent school absenteeism.

Once a year, our team members set aside their regular activities and devote a full day to a common cause in their community, multiplying their individual efforts by working together on building schools from the ground up or refurbishing youth centers and orphanages. What sets it apart is that the volunteers are giving with their hearts and hands in their free time, during the weekend, for a cause they’re passionate about, focused on education, health or the environment.

In 2018, TELUS International was among the first companies to lay the foundation for Habitat for Humanity’s project, Buftea Community Center and, on Saturday, June 22 this year, approximately 350 of our team members returned to help finalize the construction by building and plastering walls.

The direct beneficiaries of this project will be 200 children at risk of school dropout due to social and economic challenges impacting their families. Buftea Community Centre will provide after-school activities, workshops, hot meals and psychological counseling to these children. The pupils study at two public schools in Buftea and the Center’s activities will fulfill their needs, in addition to improving the school curricula.

“Growing up in a third world country like Tanzania, where I spent the first seven years of my life, impacted my worldview from the time I was very young,” said Jeffrey Puritt, President and CEO of TELUS International. “I am mindful of both the heartbreak and the immense need to address social inequities and to drive meaningful social change in the countries where we operate. As leader of TELUS International, I consider myself privileged to have the opportunity to do so all over the world.”

In Romania, the first TELUS Days of Giving took place in 2013 and it has since been held in seven different locations across the country, including the Pinocchio and Ciresarii placement centers in Bucharest; public schools in Ferentari and Plopsor Village in Dolj; the first HOSPICES of Hope Social-Medical Center in Adunatii-Copaceni for two consecutive years and the Buftea Community Center with Habitat for Humanity in 2018 and 2019.

To date, more than 2,000 team members have volunteered over 15,000 hours in local TELUS Days of Giving. Every year, more TELUS International volunteers are joining the initiative. The main lesson we have learned since our first event in 2013 is to make sure the cause is close to our team members’ hearts.

Here you can read more about our heartfelt mission to create positive change in our communities.

TELUS International and Habitat for Humanity Romania share the same values in facilitating easier access to education and social care as a means for a better future for children in need. Habitat for Humanity strongly believes that every person is entitled to a simple, decent and affordable place to live in safety and with dignity.

“At Habitat for Humanity, we work where it matters most: at the heart of the community beside those in need. We are grateful to have TELUS International – such a devoted and committed partner – sharing the same values we cherish: giving and partnering with the vulnerable. As we raised walls of bricks on the construction site, so many unseen walls of social segregation and unequal access to education were torn down. That is indeed the power of working together and building hope for those who need it,” shared Roberto Pătrăşcoiu, National Director, Habitat for Humanity Romania.

TELUS International allocated €50,000 this year for this project. Once completed, the Hercules Association, a non-profit organization with the mission to combat poverty and social problems in the community will oversee the facility maintenance and programming. It also successfully manages a similar center in Costesti, Arges county.

In addition to TELUS Days of Giving events, the company has five TELUS International Community Boards located in Bulgaria, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Philippines and Romania, each distributing US$100,000 annually to fund local charitable projects focused on health, education and the environment to drive better outcomes for citizens. Since its inception, the TELUS International Community Board in Romania has donated $200,000, funding 45 project. To apply for funding or for more information about the company’s corporate social responsibility program, visit community.telus.com.