Working with communities
Working with our communities
LeasePlan takes pride in its involvement in the areas where we work and live. all over the world, we help local community organisations and charities do the great work they do. Whether its sponsorship of a local performing arts centre, funding a local children’s shelter, or getting right into the community and doing the volunteer work ourselves, we always strive to make a real contribution to society.
Human rights
We recognise that human rights should be considered fundamental and universal which is why we respect the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principles of the International Labour Organisation, and shall avoid being complicit in human rights abuses of any kind. We neither use forced or compulsory labour nor do we employ child labour.
LeasePlan ChildPlan
Our flagship global community investment programme, LeasePlan ChildPlan, is our commitment to help improve the lives of disadvantaged children and youth around the world. We work in partnership with NGO Net4kids, providing access to education, healthcare and life skills in order to provide children a better future.
LeasePlan ChildPlan continued to grow in 2011, as we added several new projects to its list of initiatives. Created in 2006 in order to support underprivileged children in developing countries, LeasePlan ChildPlan has donated a total of close to EUR 1.1 million to the projects listed below, with almost EUR 385,000 donated in 2011 alone. LeasePlan offices around the world also organise additional fund-raising activities locally, under the LeasePlan ChildPlan umbrella.
NepalOur first global project was the Child Watabaran Centre Nepal (CWCN) in Kathmandu, Nepal, where we provided the financial means to build a new boys’ home, girls home’ and academic building for 60 former street children. Additionally, we provide the ongoing running costs for the girls' home as well as well as a mobile health service and transit clinic. These children now receive care, shelter, food, medical care and education, and have safer places to live. |
RwandaIn 2011 LeasePlan decided to support children with a physical or mental disability in Rwanda. In developing countries such as war-torn Rwanda, very few children with these disabilities are able to go to school. We work with Komera a non-governmental organisation that offers adapted educational programmes to teach children to make optimal use of any means of communication, such as using various visualisation techniques and sign language. |
IndiaUntil the end of 2015, LeasePlan will support 270 children that are infected / affected by HIV/AIDS within the ‘Foster a Child Programme (FCP)’ of the Society for Serving Humanity. The objective of this project is to create an enabling environment for the social, educational and health development of these children living in the Namakkal and Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. 90% of these children have lost a parent and many are orphans that live with grandparents or other relatives. Currently there is a lack of proper education in the same area. The Society for Serving Humanity will build a school offering education from 1st until 12th grade. Through LeasePlan’s financial support, 600 children will be able to receive an education with a focus on quality education including English lessons and computer training. We are proud to announce the school will be known as the ChildPlan Academy. The aim is to admit 300 FCP children and 300 children outside the programme. As well as providing proper education the new school will enhance SSH’s sustainability in the years to come. |
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Similar projects are underway in Pakistan and Cameroon, which we will proudly continue to support, always with a view towards creating better opportunities for children around the world. |
Local involvement and sponsorship
LeasePlan’s social responsibility approach is not only aimed at helping those in less developed areas of the world. We are actively involved in the communities we work and live in as well.
In the city of Almere, Netherlands where our corporate headquarters are based, we provide generous sponsorships of a number of local institutions. De Kunst Linie, a thriving performing arts and cultural centre and the New Library of Almere, a cornerstone of the City community, are two of the primary beneficiaries of LeasePlan sponsorship.
Also within the Netherlands, we launched LeasePlan Inside Out - a charitable programme whereby employees are given a day off in order to get into the community and assist a charitable organisation. Over 300 employees have already registered to help preserve local forests, work in animal shelters, distribute food to the needy, and spend time with disadvantaged children.
Similar local initiatives take place in most LeasePlan entities around the world. Just a few examples include our efforts in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. LeasePlan Australia’s ‘Carn the Kids’ programme teams up with local children’s organisations to bring thousands of youngsters to different sporting events. LeasePlan New Zealand raised funds to support children affected by the series of earthquakes which occurred in 2011. Additionally in the United States, various LeasePlan locations help out regularly, with donations to local children’s shelters in the form of funds and vehicles.