What do a Strongman Cup, Hackerspace and World Freediving Championships have in common? Those are the passions of Sii employees
Why Sii, the top IT and engineering services provider, decides to sponsor a Strongman Cup in a small town near Tricity? Why a technology company supports a World Freediving Championships participant?
The answer is obvious to over 3600 Sii employees since the Passion Sponsorship Program is one of the most popular CSR initiatives in the company. In every edition, along with the 3rd one currently pending, over 100 workers took part, applying for a grant supporting their individual interests. The total annual budget for this this undertaking is over 300 000 PLN.
Although summer is a holiday time, for the Passion Sponsorship Program it is the most intensive period since most of the events, which have been planned in winter, during the previous enrolment, are going to take place within the next few months. One of them is Strongman Cup in Kielno close to Tricity, organized on July 21st by Adam, a Service Delivery Manager in Sii Gdansk. At work Adam is responsible for delivering projects to clients in the Engineering Competency Center, while privately he is a personal trainer and a strength sports enthusiast, promoting a healthy lifestyle.
During the contest, top Polish strongman are going to compete in spectacular and well-known disciplines, such as dragging a fire truck or lifting cars. As a father of two daughters, Adam took a complex approach and organized amusement for all age groups. Additionally, the event will be finished with a concert. – We are proud to be a sponsor of such an event as a part of the Passion Sponsorship Program. Although at first sight it seems that an IT company does not have anything in common with strongmen, both of these things are connected by something very important, which is the passion of our experts. They are the ones, who choose the events we donate – says Katarzyna Domańska, a CSR Manager responsible for the Program.
The Strongman Cup is one of many events and interests sponsored financed by Sii. The employees’ hobbies are very diverse and involve much more than only sports. – The variety of these projects makes us very happy because it shows how different we are. One of the events from our tight schedule is is Bass River, which will take place at the end of July in Plock. It is a side event of the Audioriver Festival, organized for the fourth time by Grzegorz, a Release Manager at Sii Warsaw and a DJ after hours – emphasizes Katarzyna Domańska.
The sponsored employees are not only amateurs. During the recent Individual Pool Freediving World Championships, Poland and Sii was represented by Michał, a Solution Architect from Sii Cracow. Michał is consequently one of the top freedivers in the world. In Belgrade in the DYN (Dynamic apnea with fins) discipline he gaind the 6th place in the world – he covered the distance of 234 meters.
Among the applications, there are also some long-term projects, which continue during the entire year. On of the examples is the Hackerspace in Wroclaw, which was co-founded by Bartek, a Software Engineer from Sii Wroclaw. In an old tram depot he set up a shop fully equipped with Sii funds. It is a place to develop various modern DIY interests, such as building 3D printers and remotely controlled models and electronic plates.
For more on Passion Sponsorship Program go to www.sii.pl.
