Laferla gave a donation of €1,000 to Hospice Malta as part of its CSR initiatives. Every last Friday of the month, the company holds a ‘Dress Down Day’ which sees staff members enjoying a day at the office in more casual attire, while also contributing a small donation to a charity fund. The company adds to the donation that is then presented to charitable organisations chosen by the staff.
Closing off the year on a positive note, executive director Mark Laferla Jr said: “It’s been a hard year for everyone and we hope that this donation to Hospice Malta will help this hard-working foundation continue with the good work that’s being done”.
Throughout the years, the monthly initiative also formed part of the company’s team-building strategy, whereby staff could enjoy a company-paid lunch and mingle with each other in a relaxed environment.
“Because of COVID, we have had to adapt our Dress Down Day initiative to incorporate social distancing, however, we still treat our staff to lunch every month and make sure that the underlying objective of the initiative, the charitable donations such as that which we are making to Hospice Malta, lies at the heart of the occasion each month,” the executive director noted.
Hospice Malta provides patient-centred palliative care free of charge to more than 1,300 patients every year. The NGO’s primary role is to provide services to patients suffering from cancer, motor-neurone disease, end-of-life, cardiac, renal and liver diseases. Services include home care and follow-up visits for patients, day therapy of various natures, hydrotherapy, 24/7 respite care, patient transport, hospital support, loaning of equipment, after-hours on-call support, psychological services as well as bereavement support.
In October, a donation from the funds gathered during the month was also presented to the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation in light of Pink October and topped up by Laferla to total €500. The foundation offers support both to patients suffering from breast cancer and their families.
“We really must recognise the efforts of our staff, who have made the initiative what it is today. We hope that everyone does their best to give back to others who need it the most and that corporations invest in some sort of CSR, whether donations or voluntary service. Let’s make sure 2021 starts on a positive note,” Laferla said.