For information - Message sent to all BESIX staff
In January 2024, the BESIX Foundation is celebrating its 15th anniversary. In the course of its 15 years of existence, almost 20,000 volunteers participated in one or more of the 348 caritative activities organised by the Foundation on the 4 continents where our Group is active. Since its creation, the Foundation has also financed 370 projects for a total budget of 5 million euros.
BESIX Foundation is a private Foundation set up by BESIX Group in 2009 to celebrate our 100th anniversary. Education, Construction, and Environment are the pillars of the Foundation’s mission.
BESIX Foundation’s main achievements:
- Each year, the Foundation sends volunteers to help the non-profit organisation Opération Thermos Operatie distribute hot meals in the winter to the homeless in Brussels and Liège.
- Right2Learn is a programme in which volunteers provide computer courses to our workers living far from home, enabling them to communicate with their loved ones digitally to exchange e-mails, photos, or even call for free. They also organise English lessons.
- KiddyBuild allows underprivileged children from primary schools to discover the various building professions. Enthusiastic volunteers guide them through a class around a board game called ‘Construction Hearoes’ or on-site with practical workshops.
- The BESIX CleanUp Day is an initiative organised by BESIX Foundation and the QHSE teams where BESIX volunteers roll up their sleeves and collect waste in the public spaces around their site or offices. The River CleanUp is a similar initiative where volunteers gather every year to clean up a river in Belgium. An equivalent is the Beach CleanUp in the Middle East.
- And of course, the yearly financial dotation of BESIX Group allows year after year to support other selected organisations around environmental, construction, and educational initiatives.
For its 15th anniversary, BESIX Foundation has launched two awards: a Volunteer Award and a Thank You Award.
- For the Volunteer Award, the group’s current 1.000 active volunteers recently voted for their favourite project among a selection of five: Aer Aquae Terra: Taking care of our rivers - Natuurpunt: Taking care of our environment - Opération Thermos Operatie: Giving a little warmth to the homeless - Toekomst Atelier de l'Avenir: Giving young people better prospects - The Belgian Red Cross: Emergency aid. The winning organisation is Opération Thermos Operatie and will be presented with a cheque for 5,000 euros donated by the Foundation.
- At the end of December, three volunteers, randomly chosen amongst the 53 most active ones in 2023, received a Thank You Award, with a nice present, to thank them for their dedication and the time given to the foundation’s actions.
Frédéric de Schrevel, BESIX Foundation Chairman: “The BESIX Foundation’s achievements for the last fantastic 15 years illustrate so beautifully and year after year the Group’s and its staff’s capacity to get largely mobilised around societal initiatives. I am always moved by the enthusiastic availability of so many colleagues, it feels like a continuous miracle for 15 years! In 2024, BESIX Group allocates again a budget to our initiatives and deserves our special gratitude for contributing to BESIX Foundation’s sustainable commitment! Let us all keep being active BESIX Foundation ambassadors and take pride in working for a better world”.
Donatienne de Spirlet, BESIX Foundation Executive Officer: “So many places and times when colleagues, and often their loved ones, have lent a hand to a good cause! Thank you all for contributing to this great adventure, you make it happen! And thank you on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been helped since 2009”.
