A group of Port of Açu associates brought joy this Wednesday to the elderly people at the São João Batista retirement home, in São João da Barra. To celebrate Christmas, they promoted an event to entertain and distribute gifts to those who live in the home. Inspired by letters that children write to Santa Claus, the port’s associates encouraged the 33 senior residents to write letters. All of them had their wishes fulfilled during an afternoon of snacks, bingo, and music presentations by the volunteers.
image2.jpegThe action is part of the Port of Açu’s Volunteer Program, named ABRAÇU, involving 70 associates (including people who work in Açu and some of the team at headquarters in Rio de Janeiro). All of them participated in workshops about volunteering and together they designed the pillars of the program: Education, Culture, Professional Qualification, Income Generation and Sustainability.
CEO José Magela Bernardes participated in the event and stressed that the success of this type of action reflects the efforts and cooperation of those involved: “I am very proud of the first results of our program, which opens up the possibility to do good in our community, together. I congratulate our volunteers for their commitment and dedication. May we have more and more associates participating in our actions,” said Magela.
image1.jpegIn Rio de Janeiro, the first ABRAÇU action took place early in the month, with 200+ students of Vital Brasil public school. Volunteers organized three recreation workshops for the children, who manufactured Christmas decorations using recyclable material, attended storytelling sessions and group plays based on Brazilian folklore. Associates also donated 90 books to the school’s recently-opened library.
New actions will be carried out by the Port of Açu’s Volunteer Program throughout 2018. All 70 volunteers will continue to organize actions in Açu and at our headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
