T-Mobile Fund distributes CZK 8 million

  • Nearly 400 grant applicants submitted projects for evaluation
  • 135 projects countrywide received up to CZK 100,000 each

Prague, 24 June 2008 - A record sum of CZK 8,000,000 from the T-Mobile Fund was distributed among successful applicants this year. Altogether, 135 applicants from the non-profit sector benefited from the fourth annual grant program. Apart from the financial support T-Mobile provided in its three office locations, i.e. the Louny district, the Hradec Králové region and the city district of Prague 11, T-Mobile also supported a number of projects submitted by non-profit organizations throughout the whole Czech Republic based on recommendations of T­-Mobile employees as part of the third annual T-­Mobile Employee Fund grant program. Symbolic checks will be presented to the winners at ceremonies that will take place in Prague, Hradec Králové and Louny from 24 to 26 June 2008.

"We are very glad that the number of grant applicants is rising each year, with almost four hundred organizations having applied this year for our financial support," says Jitka Chocová, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at T-­Mobile, adding: "We were also quite pleased that more and more TMCZ employees support projects which they are actively involved in."

T-Mobile Regional Fund
CZK 5 million from the T-Mobile Fund was awarded to various applicants throughout the Hradec Králové region, the Louny district and the city district of Prague 11. The evaluation committees altogether received 266 project proposals, which is sixty more than last year. Eighty-eight were selected to receive financial support.

Most applications for financial support were submitted in the Hradec Králové region this year (188) where funds distribution is administered by the VIA Foundation. A total of CZK 2 million will be distributed among 36 non-profit organizations, half of which reside directly in the Hradec Králové district. The Louny district, where the Community Foundation of Euroregion Labe is in charge of funds distribution, will receive the same amount of CZK 2 million for the same number of projects (36) selected from among 111 proposals. Out of the 37 applicants of the city district of Prague 11, sixteen will receive a total of CZK 1,000,000.

The funds provided by the T-Mobile Employee Fund will be used for a variety of purposes. For example, a project of the Social Care Institution in Tuchořice, in which T­-Mobile employees are also directly involved, will use the grant to equip one of its rooms for music therapy. In the Hradec Králové region, a society for heritage protection will be receiving another grant this year, this time for a concert performance in the Romanesque church in Vysoký Újezd. And in Prague, the beneficiaries included a free-time workshop for senior citizens and a café that employs the mentally handicapped.

The maximum financial support a single project may receive was set at CZK 100,000. Also, the project must be implemented within the one-year period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009 to be eligible for a grant.

T-Mobile Employee Fund
This is also the third year that funds have been distributed from the T-­Mobile Employee Fund, which is intended for non-profit organizations countrywide that are recommended by T-Mobile employees. This year, the operator's employees recommended altogether 124 projects. Those selected for funding include, for instance, an educational series for women after breast ablation, two international volunteer camps in Putim and the establishment of a relaxation spot in Česká Skalice.

Ultimately the evaluation committee decided to distribute CZK 3,122,100 to 47 applicants through the VIA Foundation. Just as in the case of the T-Mobile Regional Fund, the maximum financial support a single project may receive was set at CZK 100,000 and the project must be implemented within the one-year period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.

Grant program Applications Supported projects Total amount (CZK)
T-Mobile Regional Fund
Prague 11 city district 37 16 1,000,000
Louny district 111 36 2,000,000
Hradec Králové region 118 36 2,000,000
T-Mobile Employee Fund 124 47 3,122,100
Total 390 135 8,122,100

The grants will be mainly directed to the following areas:

  • care for small cultural heritage sites such as chapels, roadside crosses, places of historical interest; beautification and remodeling of public spaces such as parks, playgrounds, town and village squares, places for relaxing, public gardens, etc.;
  • revival of local cultural heritage, municipal activities and social events; support of non-commercial cultural events; strengthening of bonds between people and their locale and historical knowledge;
  • care for the environment, which includes local environmental protection, considerate use of the landscape and natural resources, replanting of tree alleys and care for trees listed for preservation, animal-care projects;
  • development of local charitable activities and volunteerism;
  • leisure-time activities for youth; strengthening of the community-building role of local museums, libraries, schools, etc.;
  • social and community services, such as projects dealing with socially or culturally disadvantaged and mentally or physically disabled persons through extra-institutional care; this includes foster family care, protected workshops, assistance services, short stay hospitals for children, family advisory centers, self-help social groups, etc.

Detailed information about the supported projects can be found at www.lepsisvet.cz, www.nadacevia.cz and www.komunitninadace.cz.

Corporate social responsibility program and promotion of equal opportunities
T-Mobile's comprehensive program of corporate social responsibility also includes the T-Mobile Fund, which is intended to support local initiatives throughout the Czech Republic, a volunteer program for its employees, and waste recycling on the company' premises. In 2005, T-Mobile became the first mobile operator in the market to enable customers to hand in their old handsets at retail shops for the purpose of ecological disposal.

In the area of social activism, the operator endeavors to create equal opportunities for men and women and strives to find ways for the disabled to utilize their personal and professional abilities.


 
About the Company

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.