UniCredit Bank Banja Luka has continued to be committed to supporting the local communities in which it operates over the past year, with a special focus on vulnerable categories of society, such as children and youth. Together with the UniCredit Foundation, UniCredit Bank Banja Luka during 2021 supported 9 different projects of non-profit organizations aimed at providing assistance to children and youth under 18 years of age. The UniCredit Foundation operates in the member countries of the UniCredit Group, and through various projects and initiatives seeks to improve the lives of children and youth.
Within the “Call for Europe” initiative, the UniCredit Foundation provided grants to support the implementation of social projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past year. UniCredit Bank Banja Luka, as a member of UniCredit, after the selection of projects received by public call, proposed relevant projects. The UniCredit Foundation selected the winning projects that were realized during the year.
At the initiative of the Association Green Ways from Mrkonjić Grad, the children in the village of Pecka got their first playground. The Association “Zagrljaj” from East Sarajevo, with the support of UniCredit, provided funds for the purchase of equipment for physiotherapeutic treatments for children and youth with disabilities. The Kentuar Equestrian Club Banja Luka Association organized a riding school for children with developmental disabilities and disabilities with the aim of encouraging psychomotor abilities.
Children in Trebinje, with the support of the Association “Sunce nam je zajedničko”, received a sensory room that will provide adequate therapies for children with disabilities. The project “Uključi jezik, isključi distance” implemented by the Association “Tesla svijet obrazovanja” from Banja Luka is aimed at children from large families, with the aim of overcoming the consequences of social distance and changed schooling during the pandemic.
In addition to the initiative “Childhood Support”, for the third year in a row, employees of UniCredit Bank Banja Luka are trying to brighten up the holidays and the beginning of the new year through a joint donation campaign. As part of the Joint Donation Program, in November and December, employees of UniCredit Bank Banja Luka provided funds for four non-profit organizations proposed and represented by one of the bank’s colleagues.
With their contribution, the employees of UniCredit Bank Banja Luka will help the Center for Support of Families of Children and Persons with Disabilities “Dajte nam šansu-Zvjezdice” in the purchase of a digital speech therapy set, as well as the Association of Citizens “Help the Children” within the project ” Art therapy in an air spa” intended for children with allergic diseases. The support of the Bank’s employees was also given to the Association “C.E.Z.A.R.” from Srbac for the project of inclusion of children from the rural area of the municipality. The Cultural and Artistic Youth Association “Veselin Masleša” continues to preserve and promote cultural heritage through a new choreography, the realization of which was supported by employees of UniCredit Bank Banja Luka. The program is another initiative of the UniCredit Foundation that doubles the funds raised by employees during the donation period.
By supporting projects aimed at improving the conditions for growth and development of children and youth, as well as the work of local associations that are largely affected by the pandemic effects, UniCredit Bank Banja Luka strives to be a driver of change in society, and build a path to the future by showing empathy for the community in which it operates.
