A quarter of a million zlotys from the LPP Foundation for a better start for wards of 17 children’s homes
„Moda na lepszy start” [“Fashion for a Better Start”] is a pilot social programme of the LPP Foundation addressed to the wards of children’s homes of the Gdańsk Foundation for Social Innovation, “Rodzinny Gdańsk” Foundation and “Ogniska Nadziei” Foundation. The Foundation of LPP – a Polish clothing producer – donated PLN 250,000 for activities benefiting 240 wards of the Gdańsk-based organisations, thus allowing the children to develop their skills and passions and have a better start in adulthood. Thanks to the LPP Foundation’s funding, from September 2021 to January 2022 a total of over 3,000 hours of educational, therapeutic and developmental activities were carried out. The donated funds were also earmarked for necessary medical treatment for the wards of the Gdańsk-based foundations. In view of the success of the programme, the LPP Foundation decided to continue it also this year, allocating half a million zlotys for this purpose.
“Fashion for a Better Start” is a pilot social programme constituting a response of the LPP Foundation owned by a Polish clothing manufacturer to the most urgent needs of the wards of children’s homes, who due to their difficult family experiences are often deprived of motivation and chances to enter the adult life similar to their peers.
– This project has been growing within us for several years. Working with foundations, we talked about their troubles and challenges they face every day. In the spring of last year, we met and together clarified the assumptions, taking into account the needs concerning both the basic spheres of life and those affecting the development of their charges. After the pilot, we can already see that it was a good and necessary step – explains Patrycja Zbytniewska President of the Management Board of the LPP Foundation.
The action has covered a total of 240 wards from 17 children’s homes, to whom the LPP Foundation decided to give a better start in adulthood by financing activities improving professional qualifications, but also additional classes compensating for educational shortcomings. The beneficiaries were able to participate, among others, in additional classes in English and Mathematics, but also in social skills training, swimming lessons, and professional courses – in pastry making, cooking, floristry, or computer programming. The Management Board of the LPP Foundation, encouraged by the effects of the “Fashion for a Better Start” programme after the first months of its duration, decided to continue it also in 2022, doubling the amount of support to PLN 0.5 million.
– The “Fashion for a Better Start” programme is yet another excellent initiative of the LPP Foundation, which truly gets to the point when it comes to the needs relating to the support of wards staying in the children’s homes run by our Foundation on a daily basis. Thanks to the received support the wards have the opportunity to fulfil their dreams, as well as to renew their faith in their own abilities or strengths – often dormant due to traumatic events they had experienced in the past – emphasizes Rafał Tomaszewski, Director of “Rodzinny Gdańsk” Foundation.
The programme involved a total of over 3000 hours of classes and therapy, including corrective classes, psychological and pedagogical therapies, but also dental, orthodontic, dermatological, ophthalmological, endocrinological or dietary treatment.
– The most important benefit of the programme is the opportunity to provide professional health and educational support, as well as to develop the passions of the charges. It has rendered it possible to show children and young people how important it is in life to do something for oneself, which gives satisfaction from one’s progress, and to make them aware that achieving success in life requires commitment, lists Marzena Łada, President of the Management Board of the “Ogniska Nadziei” Foundation.
The third area to which the funds were allocated as part of the “Fashion for a Better Start” programme was the development of passions and talents. The wards had the opportunity to try out such activities as a driving licence course, painting and drawing classes, dance and acting classes, as well as sports such as fencing, rugby, football, judo, karate, horse riding or gym classes.
Participation in the programme is not only an opportunity to improve skills and qualifications, but also to fulfil dreams and establish valuable relationships with peers outside the institution. Among the many benefits of the programme, it is worth mentioning the valuable knowledge acquired by the tutors, which will make it easier for them to plan the objectives of their work with their charges and adjust the appropriate educational measures to their individual needs.
– It is hard to imagine a better programme, which supports children in such a direct and flexible way, is in tune with their needs and creates conditions for their development. The cooperation with the LPP Foundation is a partner-like relation. We meet people who genuinely build space for working out interesting solutions – emphasizes Marianna Sitek-Wróblewska, President of the Management Board of the Gdańsk Foundation for Social Innovation. The programme proposed by the LPP Foundation gives our wards a chance to develop their talents and interests and to try their hand at various spheres of social life – adds the President of the aforesaid foundation.
The LPP Foundation has been helping people in a difficult life situation for many years and has been cooperating with organizations in its immediate vicinity, especially in Pomerania, where the LPP headquarters are located, but also in Małopolska and Kujawy regions. The “Fashion for a Better Start” project is in line with the Foundation’s goal of building lasting change by, among other things, counteracting social exclusion.
– We are very pleased with the success of the pilot of the “Fashion for a Better Start” programme and the positive feedback from both the foundations and the wards of the children’s homes. We have decided to continue it this year, doubling the budget for this purpose. The past months have shown us how wide the spectrum of needs of these young people is and how much happiness we are able to give them, building the foundations for their better start in adulthood, summarizes Patrycja Zbytniewska, President of the LPP Foundation.
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LPP is a Polish family business and one of the fastest growing clothing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For 30 years it has been successfully operating in Poland and abroad, offering its collections on 26 stationary markets, including in such prestigious capitals as London, Helsinki, Tel Aviv or Moscow. The online offer is available on 31 markets. LPP SA manages five fashion brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, and Sinsay. The company has a chain of over 2000 stores with the total area of over 1.7 million sq.m. On the basis of a global supply chain, the Polish clothing producer distributes over 259 million pieces of clothing to three continents. LPP plays another important role as it employs 27 thousand people in its offices and sales structures in Poland, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the WIG20 index and belongs to the prestigious MSCI Poland index.