OKTA with international recognition for best CSR campaign – Chance for Life

(Skopje, 17.12.2015) – The company OKTA received the award Best CSR practice for its campaign Chance for Life. The international recognition for implementation of the most successful CSR campaign is awarded by “CSR for ALL”, a project created by the European Union, and implemented in this country by the Business Confederation. In presentations of nine countries – participants in the project, Chance for Life has been chosen as a Socially Responsible practice that was most prominent at international level, with its impact in the community and the change it effected.

“This recognition is not just for OKTA, but for all the individuals, organizations and companies that actively got involved and supported us in the past two years. Chance for Life is a campaign that had excellent response in the public and left significant mark and benefit for the entire community. For us in OKTA, the responsibility towards the community is a built-in mechanism in the everyday operation of the company, its policies and business strategy. We have been continuously committed to sustainable development, integrating the concept of social responsibility, not only because of an ethical obligation, but because OKTA and its employees are part of this community as well”, said Marija Stavreva, Manager for CSR and Communications in OKTA.

The award was handed by Jaromir Levichek, Coordinator for Economy and Finances in the Delegation of the European Commission in the country, who emphasized:

“At such events we promote the spirit of the good corporate practices with the public and the business community; we encourage community leaders and inspire other companies to develop their own policies and initiatives. I also hope that this award will encourage OKTA to do more in this area and inspire other companies to follow its example”, stated Levichek.

The campaign and the engagement of the company had been evaluated by the Business Confederation, project partner of “CSR for ALL”.

“The corporate culture and the human capital are the most essential part of a company, therefore it is important for the companies to follow the international standards. The importance of such acting, and the award that comes as an international recognition speaks much more about the company. While observing the activities and the campaigns, we are measuring all the possible aspects, the engagement, the company culture and the effect towards the employees, the final outcome and of course, the influence that a certain CSR activity has towards the broader community, i.e. the entire community”, said Mile Boshkov, President of the Business Confederation.

About the impact of the campaign Chance for Life spoke the Director of the Children’s Clinic in Skopje, Aspazija Sofijanova.

“The campaign Chance for Life is what all health institutions in the country have to experience. One message so powerful, one call for help sent exactly from those who need it the most. We have united under this sole aim, we, the employees, the parents who used to be our patients, organizations, companies and citizens from the entire country. That is the truthful and the biggest contribution from OKTA, which created a campaign which brought us together in a unique humanitarian mission. Our care, as doctors, professionals for the prematurely born babies and the babies born with complications is undisputable, yet sometimes our efforts are limited by the equipment that we have. Therefore, the support from OKTA through the campaign Chance for Life was focused in that area, contributing for improvement of the conditions, providing new and functional equipment, thus saving lives”, said Sofijanova.

Chance for Life is a campaign initiated by OKTA, aiming at raising public awareness for improvement of the conditions at the Children’s Clinic in Skopje, which started in early 2014. Through a corporate decision made by the company for direct donations and by encouraging individuals and organizations to contribute for the same cause, the Intensive Care Department received a new incubator, baby-term, while the other medical equipment necessary for normal functioning of the Department was serviced. The trademark of the campaign Chance for Life is the red and white rubber bracelet, which reminds of the identification bracelets given to the mother and her newborn in the nursery. For each donation of minimum 100 MKD in the marked boxes at the petrol stations of OKTA, the citizens received this bracelet for campaign’s supporters. A special bank account was open providing possibility to contribute in the campaign, while the donations are also possible through the phone lines 070/075/077 14 33 33. The campaign was supported by more than 50 celebrities, while in the social media there are more than 16.000 followers. To strengthen the effect and raise more public awareness for the needs of the Intensive Care Department, a song with an official video was created with the help of several famous pop artists.