Last May, we organised our third annual Pro Bono week.
Through 3 events, C@rma reached close to 100 unique participants and recorded 150 hours of Pro Bono support for NGOs. Read more
Corporate Breakfast
The main aim of this event is to give a high-level overview of Pro Bono and its benefits to Corporate senior executives but also introduce these corporate decision makers to their counterpart of well-known NGOs in Turkey. The second aim is to create a community of corporate supporters and encourage them to network.
After a small introduction from Sandrine Ramboux, Şule Yücebıyık, Head of Corporate Communications from Borusan Group talked about Borusan’s vision and experience in corporate social responsibility and Pro Bono volunteering. Borusan is one of the biggest conglomerates in Turkey and is active in energy, steel, distribution and logistics sectors. Most of the corporate firms were really inspired by the presentation and stayed beyond the closing time to learn more about the program of Borusan.
Then, Batuhan Aydagül, director of Eğitim Reformu Girişimi[2] shared their experience and added value of Pro Bono for NGOs. Eğitim Reformu Girişimi focuses on children’s education in Turkey and aims to lead a structural transformation towards inclusive and quality education.
Sandrine closed the session by updating the corporate firms on Pro Bono on Turkey, mentioning also the development of their new project for refugees (JANA) and closing with the next steps up to the end of the year.
Pro Bono Drink
During pro Bono drink, we have 6 NGOs presenting in 10min each their activities and what they need to grow in terms of Pro Bono support (in Turkish with simultaneous translation in English).
Our aim is to to give the opportunity to a large crowd to discover what a NGO is and what kind of support they could need in a relaxed atmosphere and inspire them to support them.
It is also a way to gather the C@rma community together on a quarterly basis.
This time we had Gelecek Daha Net, Karakutu, Anne Meclisi, Biz Bizze, United Work and “New Beginning”.
Speed dating
Volunteering is not a notion well known in Turkey and most of the people have a negative perception about Civil Society or are afraid to be engaged with them. C@rma noticed that, although some people really wanted to be involved, they will not do the first step and need a framework to act. C@rma is approaching corporate firms but this is also a new concept for them. Some individuals are also afraid to approach a NGO and having to commit for too much or for too long.
So through the speed dating, we create an opportunity for these individuals to test what is Pro Bono for just 2h, without any further commitment, and how it feels to support a NGO.
This time, we had experts in cooking, marketing, sales strategist, mobile app development, virtual reality, branding, e-commerce, mentoring, etc… gathered together in Sosyal Kulucka to support the NGOs Karakutu, BizBizze, Dusler Mutfagi and Small Projects Istanbul
The Pro Bono week was made possible thanks to all our partners
