Timing, a company created in 2015 by the Algarve businessman Ricardo Mariano, has social and environmental awareness in its DNA. Social Responsibility is really one of the company's pillars. Therefore, over the years, the company's managers and employees have been committed to participating in and promoting various projects of a social and environmental nature.
Last Christmas, despite the pandemic situation (or even because of it), was no exception. For the new year 2021, Timing also has new projects, such as the collaboration in the AAUAlg+ Scholarships, in partnership with the Academic Association of the University of Algarve.
When was Timing's first social initiative?
Ricardo Mariano – When Timing was created in 2015, we opened three branches in the Algarve – Quarteira, Albufeira and Portimão – and we decided that it would be important to mark this date. Therefore, and from a perspective of social and environmental awareness, we spent the afternoon with users and residents of the Parish Center of Quarteira and, together, we planted three trees, representing each delegation. From here on, it was always adding up!
Why do you consider Social Responsibility as one of Timing's pillars?
RM – Before and outside Timing, we have all made donations, be it food, collections that we regularly see in super and hypermarkets, clothes that we no longer use and toys for our children. So we thought: why not do it together? At Timing, we are a company made with people, of people and for people. So it made perfect sense to associate ourselves with the social cause. We know that we cannot change the world alone, but we believe that if individual responsibility grows alongside social awareness, the path will certainly be fairer and more balanced for everyone.
How many initiatives do you develop annually?
RM – Every year, we try to develop at least one initiative for each area (social, environmental and animal). However, it is not always possible for us to schedule an entire year, because, for example, looking at the year that has just ended, the current situation has limited some of the ideas we had. On the other hand, we supported more IPSS than we had anticipated, mainly by donating surgical masks.
Are they all within the same area or are they trying to reach different realities?
RM – We try to cover all areas, because we know they all need it. The social problem has always been a reality and, therefore, it made perfect sense for it to be one of our focuses. However, environmental and animal awareness have also gradually grown. Thus, we want to make a difference in the lives of each person, association and each space we choose to plant a tree or collect garbage. It's like they say, a small step for us, a big step for humanity.
We know that they organized an initiative at Christmas. What did it consist of?
RM – In 2020, the companies' Christmas dinners did not exist. So we thought: “Why not use this money to help those who need it most?”. The idea was to contact some local IPSS, because we know that many of them tend to have excess clothes, blankets, blankets and toys and buy some blankets and blankets at a symbolic price to offer to the homeless. But we soon realized that, with COVID, the situation got worse and that, in the IPSS, where there was once an excess, there is currently a shortage of goods. We had to change the strategy and that's when we thought about local commerce, which is so important. We decided to buy blankets and blankets there. Apart from that, we opened the initiative to the general public so that whoever had clothes, blankets, blankets, toys and other goods, which they no longer use, could hand them over to our nearest delegation. We collected around 223 kilos of clothes and toys, selected IPSS allocated to the area of each of our delegations and made our donation. We know that we are not the only Algarve or national company that has these initiatives, but one of our goals is to make more and more other companies join us, so that we can reach more people.
For 2021, although without many perspectives on what the year will be like, what have you already been thinking?
RM – Social actions are still very present in our plan for 2021. How and when will they be? It's still too early to say, not least because, at the moment, we are playing with unpredictability. But we are certain that, more and more, we will assume Timing as a company with a real concern regarding the needs of the means in which it operates. We already do this by eye, but from this year on, we will stipulate a percentage of our net result for this theme. Therefore, we are going to kick off 2021 with the collaboration in the AAUAlg+ Scholarships project, which, in partnership with the Academic Association of the University of Algarve, supports needy students from the University of Algarve, which will allow them to continue their studies and not seeing your future mortgaged in a period of great uncertainty. We know that these gestures will make a difference in Tomorrow.
Other Timing Social Responsibility initiatives that marked 2020:
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