The Santander 2019 University Volunteer Awards were announced and delivered last Thursday, December 5th, International Volunteer Day. The ceremony took place at the headquarters of Santander Bank, in Lisbon, and the QUALidade Project - Intergenerational Volunteering Program of the Polytechnic of Porto received the fifth honourable mention, in a contest with 100 candidates.
In the PVU Communication category, delivered to the video project with the most votes awarded by the public, the Polytechnic of Porto had the opportunity to shine receiving the first prize ex-aequo with U.Dream from the University of Porto.
“This award means a lot to us, because the video is the image of what it was that week: you can see the affection, the relationships, everything that happened. More than winning the prize is knowing what we did and what the project was for us”, declared Luis Maia, 3rd year student at the Polytechnic of Porto School of Education (ESE), member of the QUALidade project.
This is an intergenerational project that consists of a summer camp for elderly people at risk of abandonment and where activities are promoted through youth volunteering. “This award will be an encouragement for us to be candidates again next year, and to continue to do more and better in other locations and to continue to make a difference”, concluded Luís Maia.
In addition to publicizing and delivering the awards, the ceremony included a round table - which discussed the theme “IES and Society”- and the passing on stage of several people responsible for the PVU and Santander. These included Javier Lopes, corporate director of social impact at Santander universities, who spoke of the bank's vision and strategy for this segment, and Pedro Castro and Almeida, executive president of Santander Portugal.
With the aim of increasingly encouraging the practice of active citizenship through volunteering and rewarding the efforts of the Higher Education Institutions and the young people most involved in these activities, Santander Universities promotes the creation of these awards. Distinguishing the solidarity projects of students from higher education.
