- Together with the Tenerife Red Cross and Iniciativas Humanas they volunteer to support elderly people in isolation
- The initiative is part of Voluntas, the Fundación Cepsa corporate volunteer program
Under the slogan #AddingOurEnergy, these companionship initiatives are part of the Fundación Cepsa's Voluntas volunteer program and aim to help alleviate the effects of COVID-19 by making day-to-day life more bearable for older people who are experiencing the current situation alone or in isolation.
Through their collaboration with the Tenerife Red Cross, the Fundación Cepsa volunteers are supporting people over the age of 65 who have no family or live far away from their relatives and have little or no social network where they live, contacting them by telephone to spread positivity and help raise their spirits by sharing life experiences and enjoying a friendly chat.
Among other aspects, the Red Cross provides the volunteers with training material on how to handle certain situations that may arise during calls, how to respond and how to provide emotional support, enabling the volunteers to provide telephone support and gather enough information about individuals' needs to be able to provide further help.
Other Cepsa professionals have joined the charity initiative run by Iniciativas Humanas, recognized by the 2019 Fundación Cepsa Social Value Awards, sending encouraging messages via email to the elderly people at El Pino nursing home in Gran Canaria and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Tenerife care home, involving them in everyday subjects, hobbies, family or future projects.
Along with the messages, they also send short poems, short stories, photographs or children's drawings to engage with the recipients and let them know that they are not alone.
Voluntas is the Fundación Cepsa corporate volunteer program available to energy professionals. The program encourages their active participation in various initiatives throughout the year, enabling them to get involved in causes they feel passionate about and help those in need, improve the lives of others and contribute to a better society.