As part of its corporate social responsibility programme, EY Malta has built a gym in one of Aġenzija Appoġġ’s residences. This is a home for young women who have behavioural issues, find it difficult to integrate into society and are effectively homeless.
Led by Maria Giulia Pace, EY Tax Advisory Services senior, the EY team took an unfurnished room and created it into a safe gym, including three exercise machines. Extremely excited about the gym, the resident girls were would often check on its progress and chat with EY’s 20 volunteers. In addition, EY staff also donated cash.
The aim of this project was to help these girls express and channel their energy in a different way. Studies prove that physical activity is beneficial and therapeutic for those with social problems. With these exercise machines and an area to do other exercises, the girls have a space to rechannel their anxiety and anger. Evidence of the girls’ enthusiasm for the project is a chart on the door with the fitness goals which each girl expressed a wish to achieve.
The agency’s CEO Alfred Grixti said: “Research shows that physical exercise is one of the fundamental tools for helping children and young people deal with emotional stress. Physical exercise also increases their self-esteem and has a significant positive impact on their physical and mental health.
“Having an easily accessible gym in our residence is so essential to help them deal with their strong emotional issues. They can start utilising it freely without the fear of being prejudiced by the outside world, and once they have enough confidence they will be able to search for such facilities within the community. The facility is also helpful for our workers as it is another tool which they can use to better engage with our clients and encourage them to adopt a healthy life style.”
Gabriella Azzopardi, tax assistant, Malta commented: “This project was a satisfying experience for me given that I embarked on it as soon as I joined EY. Through it I also got to know my colleagues much faster. One point I would like to highlight is that volunteering to help those in need is always a remarkable experience.”
Noelle Cauchi, TAS senior, Malta, said: “In terms of its intensity, this project was the first of its kind undertaken by EY. Although it seemed overwhelming at the beginning, breaking it up into smaller tasks and having the help of so many other employees eased the process immensely. The project also helped us grow as a team. Being on site, some of the girls and the workers used to come over and check on the progress or simply just to ask how everything was going. This really kept me motivated, knowing that they were truly interested in what was going on. Little did we know that while we were helping others, they were helping our teams grow as well!”