The Community Engagement Grants at Grundfos are a unique way for the Poul Due Jensen Foundation to support employees involved in community outreach. Each year, the Foundation sets aside grant funding for our colleagues to contribute to their local communities by supporting water, climate and inclusion-related initiatives that strengthen society.
In 2021, Santiago Arriola, Lead HR Business Partner for Domestic Building Services in Grundfos Argentina, applied for a Community Engagement Grant to bring water access and hygiene education to communities throughout Argentina.
In collaboration with Proyecto Agua Segura, the project aimed to:
- Implement the active hygiene programme in 75 community centres;
- Develop 10 rainwater harvesting systems; and,
- Engage employees to share their water knowledge and expertise.
Santiago Arriola shows children how harvested rainwater is used to water gardens in the communities.
“Community Engagement Grants were perfect to get support from Grundfos and help NGOs accomplish their objectives. Not only financial resources, but also expertise and guidance from the team in Denmark made the project a success. Besides, I was able to join many colleagues as a volunteer where you can experience on the ground what it is like for a community to access clean water,” says Santiago Arriola.
An important part of the project included an employee volunteer event where colleagues in Argentina joined together to participate in the active hygiene workshops and help construct the rainwater harvesting systems. At the end of the project, Proyecto Agua Segura was able to reach 75 community centres across Argentina, benefiting more than 15,000 people and over 4,000 families with access to water.
Santiago Arriola uses the LifeStraw water filter that enables the community to purify the water.
“I have learned and shared with other human beings with unknown experiences to me. I was touched by how they felt when Grundfos, the Foundation, and us, as volunteers, helped them drink clean water for the first time. My family also joined in the efforts, and they feel just as proud to be a part of Grundfos as I do,” Santiago adds.
Want to learn more about the project? Check out this video that highlights our many Grundfos colleagues who shared in the project’s success:
Transforming access to water in Argentine communities from Grundfos Foundation | PDJF on Vimeo.
Apply for your next grant before June 24
Grundfos colleagues or divisions involved in local projects that support social responsibility, community involvement or water related initiatives can apply for or read more about the Poul Due Jensen Community Engagement Grant (Insite/SharePoint)
If you have questions regarding the Poul Due Jensen Community Grant or the application process, please contact Community Grant Coordinator Jesper Richter Rasmussen.