Last week we shared news regarding our collective donation of €142,000 which was made to various health initiatives and the ones who are most affected by COVID -19 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and North Macedonia.
As it was mentioned in our previous announcement, the initiative came from our community. We decided to share a couple of stories behind this and similar initiatives with you. Hopefully, with this example, we will bring more spotlight to the importance of a strong culture and community within.
When looking for a working environment, most of us want something that is more than a job - we want a sense of belonging and contributing to something that has larger value and influence. In the last couple of years, it has become apparent that unless a company shares its vision proudly, there is a strong chance that their talented and ambitious people will seek the next level somewhere else.
As a company, Symphony was always proud to see how team members are determined to make a change, both in their cities and countries. For us, this initiative was, both verbal and behavioral, a reminder of Symphony's mission - creating the next generation of the workforce.
Ever since the global COVID-19 pandemic has started, our community members have been very observant about what has been happening around them.
Internally, we had few colleagues volunteering to help buy groceries for other team members who weren’t able to go out. One of those volunteers was Namik from the Sarajevo office. He helped team members with essential shopping at the beginning of COVID-19 locked down, and most recently he has been engaged in “somuni” delivery for team members who aren’t able to do the same during Ramadan. Namik is the change that matters.
Another great example of solidary that our team members demonstrated in these difficult times is an initiative from Anita, who organized the local community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to support buying essential technical equipment for children in need to allow them to attend online classes. Anita is change that matters.
Great initiative was born at the beginning of April. The local gaming community in Serbia organized a Counter-Strike tournament where our Belgrade team members participated. Thanks to their amazing gaming skills and a proven track record of great teamwork, they managed to reach the finals. They have not only reached the finals, but they also stepped up and donated their winnings to Republic Health Insurance Fund in Serbia in the name of Symphony and all of its team members. Bravo! Symphony Belgrade gaming team is the change that matters
Lastly, we’d like to share two important initiatives that were proposed by our community members in Belgrade and Novi Sad in late March.
Stevan from our Belgrade hub invited colleagues to come together and help healthcare institutions in Serbia by donating at least one ventilator that could save lives.
A very similar initiative was created and further supported by colleagues in Novi Sad. These two development centers decided to join forces and invite team members from Niš to support the initiative and in just a day, a whole Symphony community in Serbia was on a mission to secure funds for the purchase of ventilators.
Community members from our development centers in Serbia deeply inspired us with their great vision "buy one respirator" that could potentially save the lives of people affected by COVID-19. Symphony Serbia is the change that matters
As a company, Symphony was led by exceptional examples from individuals in our community who believed it was their responsibility to contribute and help the purchase of essential healthcare equipment to save as many lives as possible.
These actions and stories inspired us to engage and help coordinate these initiatives. Symphony helped with additional funds and centralized our efforts to be able to drive these activities on a larger scale.
The end result as a collective, Symphony has donated €142,000 to help Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and North Macedonia fight the invisible enemy by funding healthcare institutions.
Thank you to our team members - together, we’re the #changethatmatters.
