Corporate volunteering boosts social impact - A win for all.

Soccer is integral to societal identity in Argentina. When the national team won the World Cup in December, fans celebrated La Albiceleste’s victory for days. This immense popularity has the potential to bring people together - regardless of age, gender, or socioeconomic standing - Argentina loves soccer.

Just a couple of weeks prior to the Argentinian success in Qatar, the Liga de Futbol Inclusiva, an inclusive soccer league held its own finals for its 2022 season. To mark the event, hundreds of people from local communities gathered to watch the games, listen to the accompanying musical acts, and celebrate the league and its players. Played in several age and gender brackets, involving both people with and without disabilities, the games empower an often-marginalized group to share in an activity that is valued highly by society. On the pitch everyone is part of the team and all contributions count.

The games were also this year’s high point for the recently formed collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim in South America and the NGO Asociación Civil Andar. Miranda Rafael, a team assistant at Boehringer Ingelheim in Buenos Aires, who supported organizing the event, describes her experience:

“I knew then that we had helped to make something special. To make the invisible visible! The importance of sport as a tool for inclusion was something that made a strong impression on every volunteer, that was involved that day.”

Volunteers enhance social impact

Since July, Miranda and her colleagues have worked regularly with the inclusive soccer teams from AndarFC, based in the town of Moreno to the west of Buenos Aires. The employees helped to promote the inclusive purpose and spirit of the program at several events by assisting with all aspects of the organization – everything from the players equipment to event signage and music performances.

People with disabilities still face social and cultural barriers, severely limiting participation in society and basic development. Aiming to enabling its community to break free from limiting stereotypes and fulfill their real potential, Andar employs a combination of work experience programs, social businesses, arts, culture, and health-related activities. Embedding their inclusive efforts in the local community and involving volunteers was a logical next step Martin Lucero from Asociación Civil Andar says:

“From its inception our inclusive sport program was supposed to be strongly anchored in the community. Through the commitment of hundreds of volunteers, we have been able to considerably surpass our initial goals. And now with support from Boehringer Ingelheim employees, we were able to implement several new things – such as our new jerseys. Volunteering created a true win-win in a creative and collaborative process. It brought us together to learn in a collaborative space, where teamwork and respect for diversity are promoted.”

Everybody can contribute as a volunteer

Attending all events herself and helping wherever needed, Miranda also acts as coordinator for Boehringer Ingelheim’s volunteer work at Andar FC. She plans the involvement of her colleagues and is always working to raise awareness on the various opportunities to contribute to an impactful cause among the employees:

“It makes me so happy to see how much projects like these can mean to the people that engage even once. It is amazing, everybody wants to come back and asks to be called as soon as there are new opportunities.”

The collaboration with the Andar communities is a project within Boehringer Ingelheim’s Making More Health (MMH) initiative, which is in collaboration with Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs. While using the initiative’s network has greatly simplified engaging potential volunteers, many remain unaware of the immense opportunities that volunteering can offer. Miranda describes one of the more common misunderstandings she has often encountered among her colleagues, when it comes to the topic of volunteer work: 

“We usually find that there are a lot of open questions. Especially about what the requirements for volunteer work are, about qualifications or skills you need to have – but there is something for everyone. There is always something valuable that you can contribute. There is always something to do in these projects.”

This broad engagement has allowed many employees, from entry positions to seasoned leaders to experience the benefit of volunteering in a welcoming environment, as Cecilia Miranda, Animal Health Communications Manager, and responsible for Boehringer Ingelheim South America’s Community Volunteering program explains:

“Employees engaged in volunteering can learn about communications, intrapreneurship, leadership, influence & negotiation, adaptability, diversity, and empathy, among many other skills. Having the chance to help others is reason enough to engage in volunteering, however, enhancing employee’s skills may be an added benefit to the experience.”

Volunteering is a win for everyone

People who volunteer find that it benefits their daily work, enriches their lives, inspires them, and gives them new, unexpected perspectives. Describing the season’s final event and how her colleagues experienced it, Miranda shares:

“The colleagues were overwhelmed – to be able to help the players to reach their dreams of participating in the finals was wonderful. It was indescribable. Everyone was grateful for the opportunity to generate such impact for the Andar community and put a little bit of themselves into the event and bring joy and recognition to people that are often invisible.”

With the network of social entrepreneurs and impactful initiatives that Making More Health has built over the last 13 years, there are many opportunities for employees of Boehringer Ingelheim to get involved in a project of their choice at any point – and with any amount of prerequisite expertise or commitment. As the collaboration with AndarFC shows, not every project requires highly specialized skills or weeks of preparation.
    
Working with the community in Moreno has brought tangible benefit to everyone involved – the community at Andar, the colleagues and their employer. With volunteering everybody wins – or as Miranda puts it:

Images:
Miranda Rafael & Asociación Civil Andar