Costa Crociere S.p.A., parent company of Costa Cruises, has established the Costa Crociere Foundation, an independently run organization whose goal is to improve the social and environmental conditions in the communities in which Costa Cruises operates. Creation of the foundation was announced Oct. 30 during inaugural festivities for Costa Diadema, the new flagship of the Costa fleet.
Costa Crociere Foundation evolved from social and environmental initiatives Costa Cruises has been involved in for many years. Under the auspices of the new entity, the company's activities in support of local communities will be more synergistic and coordinated.
"We feel a responsibility for the environments in which we work," said Michael Thamm, chief executive officer of Costa Crociere S.p.A. "As a strong company we have the duty and the opportunity to support the seas and the Italian communities. The establishment of a foundation is the reinforcement of a long-lasting path that the company has started years ago. A healthy business environment is indeed in the interest of the company, especially with regards to Italy that is our home, one of our most important markets and the place in which the company has grown."
The foundation will take a holistic approach, involving employees, business partners and cruise guests.
Costa Crociere Foundation will continue to support Costa Cruises' ongoing initiatives and will fund new projects, starting locally in Genoa, where the company was founded, by mobilizing and encouraging philanthropic engagement among the company's partners and volunteerism among Costa Cruises employees.
One of the pilot projects will address homeless people in Genoa, a category of the population that is rapidly increasing due to the economic downturn in Italy. According to statistics, more than 50,000 people have already dropped below the poverty line and are sleeping on the streets in Italy.
The homelessness project will have three main components. The first will provide permanent safe shelter for 10 to 15 people and supply basic necessities such as food security, access to social interaction and other services, such as assistance for the elderly. Secondly, professionals and trained volunteers will provide psychosocial assistance and customized educational, medical and legal support. The third component will raise awareness of this issue and seek to help the homeless regain self-confidence and dignity to enable their reintegration into society.
Engagement with Comunità di Sant'Egidio, an ongoing project for distribution of meals to disadvantaged people in Genoa, is an example of activities the foundation will undertake.
On the environmental side, the foundation's main objective will be to reduce marine pollution in the Mediterranean Sea by working in cooperation with local communities and encouraging people and businesses to reuse and recycle. Through education and raising awareness, the foundation will help consumers and partners understand the impact of plastic waste by adopting the Five-R Approach: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Redesign and Recover.
Costa Crociere Foundation is independently governed by a board of eight directors and supported by a small administrative staff that will select appropriate projects. Fundraising activities will focus on in-kind donations from major business partners, organization of events for guests and the public, and sales of branded products on board Costa ships.
"The foundation will mainly sponsor charitable projects conducted by nonprofit organizations," said Thatcher Brown, chairman of Costa Crociere Foundation. "It will also initiate relevant projects and look for opportunities to use the synergies between the business operations of Costa Cruises and the activities of the Foundation. In this way, we will be able to exploit the resources the company has, such as the purchasing power to buy goods for the beneficiaries of the programs at a lower price, good relations with the media to spread the message about social and environmental problems to the public and contact with many guests to involve them in fundraising activities."
SOURCE: Costa Cruises press release
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