Employees at Continental’s Varzea Paulista plant in Brazil have been successfully operating active neighborhood help schemes for as long as 10 years now. During those years they have initiated and promoted numerous social projects for the citizens in their municipality and region.

Projects include supporting the work of city welfare officers, for example, by donating furniture to various local establishments, providing suitable rooms for charity events, as well as collecting donations and toys for the annual “Children’s Day”.

In addition, the employees organize fund-raising events like the charity football match with former Brazilian football stars to provide food for the needy of the region.

The education and advancement of children and youngsters is a matter of particular importance to the employees. This is why they supported “First Teenager’s Home”, an urban project offering occupational sports and music to children and young people between the ages of ten and 19, by supplying an internal network of ten computers including a systems support service. Continental employees also staged events to prepare youngsters for their future professions by providing career information. And they organized the “Formare School – a school for life” program which is designed to communicate technical knowledge.

The Varzea Paulista plant has been participating in the SESI Quality at Work award contest, Prêmio Sesi Qualidade no Trabalho, since 2007. This scheme is a national industry initiative to promote, among other things, the quality of life for the employees, social responsibility, and sustainable growth. Companies enrolled in the scheme are analyzed and rated, with their strengths and weaknesses being identified accordingly. This enables the firms to launch appropriate measures for improvement. The companies with the highest ratings are honored with an award.