The more than 1,300 employees of Fundación Grupo Norte are celebrating. The Religious Institutions area of the entity has celebrated its 15th anniversary, confirming its leadership in a sector in which the reality from which this pioneering project started three decades ago has not changed.
During these years, the number of lines of action have multiplied, such as care for elderly religious people who cannot look after themselves; the Integraclick digital employment office, to help people in vulnerable situations, many of them women; collaboration with the Food Bank of Valladolid and its network of volunteers; and the Aliados awards for initiatives and people who are examples of integration through employment and self-improvement; the Aliados awards to initiatives and people who are an example of integration through employment and self-improvement, or the distinctions for media work committed to disseminating values against gender violence and in defense of women; the sponsorship of the wheelchair basketball team of the city of Valladolid, and so on.
These initiatives were initially aimed at following and supporting the great social work carried out by religious institutions, but they have been expanded, and with this objective in mind, more than two million euros have been allocated over the years to both national and international social projects. Then, as we have just seen, there have been programs aimed at supporting the promotion of employability, the social integration of groups at risk, raising society's awareness of the situation of the most vulnerable groups, and improving the quality of life and care of people.
Let us begin with the care of elderly religious, because chronologically it was one of the first. Time goes by and the percentage of religious who need care for their daily activities continues to increase. Before the arrival of entities such as Fundación Grupo Norte, it was common to find elderly people over 80 years old taking care of other religious of younger age, but in worse health conditions. And all this with a lot of love and dedication.
Religious have always taken care of each other. But now, given their advanced age and the lack of vocations in Spain, they need external personnel to help them in this essential and delicate step from caring to being cared for. An important task that required professional social entities, with management experience and willing to fulfill their mission, respecting their legacy. With this commitment, the Religious Institutions Area of Fundación Grupo Norte was born, which currently manages and collaborates with 142 religious centers, serves more than 5,300 users and has become the reference in the sector in Spain.
The legacy of each institution
Carlos Buerba, director of this area, recalls that "From the beginning, we proposed a rigorous project, with high demands in terms of quality and transparency, and we are grateful that the religious institutions opened their doors to us with such generosity".. The first results soon arrived, thanks to the application of a management model that allows the institutions themselves to benefit from a series of advantages, translated into an optimization of their resources, better coordination and monitoring of the work team, creation of synergies in the institution and a clear increase in support and quality of care. There are also cost savings, since an efficient evaluation of current resources is made.
One of the characteristics of this project is its respect for the legacy that each institution represents. "We present ourselves to the Religious Institutions as direct and close collaborators who adapt ourselves to their needs and circumstances, and always respecting the charisma of each institution, of each congregation, because we are a lay entity but we share their principles and values", explains Carlos Buerba.
In addition, the ultimate goal of the foundation is not only to be efficient in managing costs and optimizing resources, but also to provide a better quality of service, establishing the necessary people in the care and management so that the religious can continue to lead, with the greatest possible dignity, a life within the institution.
Person-centered model
The Religious Institutions Area of Fundación Grupo Norte offers a complete catalog of services, including social and health care, based on four specific pillars of action: direct care and assistance (toileting, bathing, mobilization and postural changes, provision of medication, meal support); therapeutic and rehabilitative care to prevent physical and cognitive deterioration of the person (physiotherapy and rehabilitation, occupational therapy, workshops, handicrafts); medical service with nursing and own pharmacy; and food service, with a menu program, specific diets (hypertension, diabetes, etc.), management of food and raw material orders, preparation and delivery to the dining room.
The foundation emphasizes the unique model of Person-Centered Care (PCA), which places the epicenter of its activity in four keys: the person is the center of the process; the importance of his or her environment, the capabilities of people along with their interests and needs, and care with professionals who know their values, habits and roles.
The foundation also provides socio-educational support services to children in nursery schools, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and student residences. On the other hand, we also offer solutions in the management of shelters and centers for the protection of minors, developing programs of educational support, social and labor reinsertion.
Integraclick
Several initiatives launched by the Grupo Norte Foundation, whose president is Almudena Fontecha, have to do with employment, because they are convinced that integration through employment is the best way to promote equal opportunities and equal treatment, and the most suitable formula for building a freer and fairer society.
For this reason, they have created a job portal for the most vulnerable groups they target, so that everyone who comes to the foundation can find an opportunity. This is Integraclick, the first digital employment office designed to help people who face the greatest barriers to finding a job. "on equal terms", and to ensure an integration process in associations or companies wishing to promote diversity in the labor market.
Through the web empleo.fundaciongruponorte.es, in addition to managing the best opportunity for each candidate, "we promote their full inclusion in the labor market."explains Almudena Fontecha. To achieve this, she adds, "our team of professionals carries out an individualized follow-up of each of the profiles, advising both the candidates themselves and the companies and entities that hire them, because we must not forget that employment is the main link to social inclusion". Training and labor intermediation programs, recruitment processes or employment antennas are some of the elements that are part of the Comprehensive Plan for full integration.
The initiative targets groups that are difficult to integrate, i.e. in situations of vulnerability, including people with disabilities, people over 45 years of age, women victims of gender-based violence, immigrants and refugees, the long-term unemployed and young people.
Food Bank
Fundación Grupo Norte has been collaborating with the Food Bank of Valladolid since this non-profit organization was established 23 years ago, first directly from the business company presided by José Rolando Álvarez, Grupo Norte, and later from the foundation's own structure, whose purpose is to channel the company's social action.
The financial support provided by the foundation helps the Food Bank and its network of volunteers to continue distributing more than 230 tons of food per month to the 15,500 people who subsist thanks to its work.
Wheelchair Basketball
Since 2003, the foundation has been the main sponsor of the Valladolid Wheelchair Basketball team. This collaboration reflects its unwavering support for this sports club, "that brings together values such as effort, self-improvement and integration, and that are part of what we want to transmit as Grupo Norte Foundation".
In addition to sports sponsorship, the agreement includes the joint organization of training and informative activities in schools, aimed at promoting and raising awareness among schoolchildren about the integration of people with disabilities through sports.
"With this initiative we aim, on the one hand, to universalize the practice of physical exercise among groups that may seem more vulnerable and, on the other hand, to avoid discrimination, spreading the idea that it is the environment that adapts to the needs and not the other way around", explains Almudena Fontecha.
Allied Awards, integration and improvement
The Allied Awards For Integration promoted in 2019 by the Grupo Norte Foundation went to Ikea Iberia, Cáritas Española and the world champion in Kata in Parakárate, Isabel Fernández. These awards were created to recognize initiatives and people who are an example of integration through employment and self-improvement.
José Rolando Álvarez, President of Grupo Norte, explains that the The award winners "represent the living example that to change things, all that is needed is to strengthen the decisive human element: the will".. The service company's top executive also stresses that the companies "we need more and more diversity, people with different ways of thinking and dealing with the challenges ahead, people from different cultures and in different situations, who know what it is like to face an adaptation process."
During the awards ceremony, held in early July at La Casa Encendida in Madrid, the president of the foundation, Almudena Fontecha, said that as transmitters of the "best practices" in the transformation of society, the Aliados awards aim to publicly encourage those strategic and innovative actions that generate "value for society and for the company".
Ikea, Caritas and Isabel Fernandez
The jury for this first edition considered Ikea to be Best Integrating Company for its labor integration initiatives for people at risk of exclusion, with specific programs for long-term unemployed women, refugees and people with disabilities. Ikea Iberia's Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Arturo García, highlighted the importance of companies promoting strategies that contribute to creating an environment of social responsibility. "better day by day" for the people, in order to create partnerships "fairer and more inclusive".
In the category Integrative ActionThe award went to Cáritas Española, in recognition of the significant rate of employment insertion of this institution of the Catholic Church in profiles linked to social exclusion. Its president, Manuel Bretón, expressed his satisfaction for the award, which encourages them to continue contributing to a task that should be "of the whole society", to continue to strive to develop "the future of those who have the least".
Against violence
The Journalism Awards against Gender Violence is another initiative promoted by the Grupo Norte Foundation. They have now reached their fourth edition and aim to recognize and reward those journalistic works that contribute to the defense and dissemination of values against this social scourge. This year, the prizes have been awarded to Pilar Ruiz, collaborator of Diario de Ibiza, RNE Radio 3 y RTVE. n
