● Supporting SK chemicals’ ‘Hope Relay’ That Connects the Dreams of People in Need,
Celebrates Its 250th Support Project
- A team-relay of hope has, for over 5 years, been meeting children and teenagers in need.
- “Continued emotional connection contributes sound formation of values and exploration of
future careers for children and teens”
SK chemicals’ continued emotional support for children and teenagers in the community is drawing enormous attention.
SK chemicals announced on June 1 that it recently celebrated its 250th ‘Hope Relay,’ a program of emotional communication between employees of SK chemicals and children/teenagers who are supported by the company.
According to the purpose of this program – deliver hope through relay – one or more teams of SK chemicals’ employees are assigned to meet children and teenagers from less-favored areas and spend a meaningful time with them every week. Through the program, the entire company maintains an ongoing relationship with those people receiving company support throughout the year.
Under the program, teams of SK chemicals’ employees conduct planned activities with children and teenagers such as visiting environmentally-friendly companies, going to baseball games, watching movies, hosting birthday parties, operating book clubs, etc.
For teenagers who are preparing for entrance exams, in particular, employees of SK chemicals become their mentors and share in-depth talks on future career paths and provide rational solutions to the teenagers’ everyday problems. .
One of the young women actually entered into a bio-related department last year after visiting a research institute of SK chemicals with the employees. She said that by having a tour to the institute with her aunts and uncles from SK chemicals, she nurtured her dream to become a researcher in bio-engineering. Through ‘Hope Relay,’ she received a lot of advice on the kinds of knowledge she should get during her university studies and career options after graduating from university.
The company participants of Hope Relay responded that the program also means a lot to them because they can meet and emotionally support the children in the program, which is much more rewarding than just giving money to them. So far, 110 teams have participated with 1,300 deserving youths over the five-years the program has been in operation.
Kwang-Seok Lee, head of the communication team of SK chemicals, noted, “It is a volunteering activity made by employees of the company that nurtures sound values in the children and teenagers residing in less-favored areas who otherwise would have been excluded from this cultural and emotional support.” He added, “We will seek ways of providing support so that the participating SK employees and their “children” may continue meeting in the future.
SK chemicals provides financial assistance to the subjects of support where an agreed amount of donation paid by the employees is matched by the company. A special emergency medical support service is available to help children in need of medical care.
Culture building experiences like winter ski camp, summer camps with foreign families, and visits to apple orchards in the fall are included in SK chemicals’ Hope Relay program.