At its first award ceremony, Elior Group Solidarities, sponsored by Michaël Jérémiasz, rewarded 14 general interest associations backed by Group employees around the world.

The mission of Elior Group Solidarities is to support solidarity initiatives taken by Elior Group in France and abroad in the fields of nutrition, education, and social and professional integration.

Last November, Elior Group Solidarities launched a call for projects among its 127,000 employees across the world, in order to back and encourage volunteer staff members involved in a non-profit organization.

Elior Group CEO Philippe Guillemot explained, "In our business, providing services, welcoming guests, ensuring hospitality and caring for others are the core values that are embodied every day by our employees around the world. With Elior Group Solidarities, we encourage our employees to make a personal commitment so that we can contribute, at our level, to the development of the communities we belong to."

Out of the 33 candidate projects received, 14 were awarded prizes for their initiatives in the fields of nutrition, education, and the social and professional integration of people in need. The winning projects will be deployed in the USA, France, India, Italy and the UK.  

Of the winning projects, Elior Group Solidarities wished to provide special support to:

  • Tandem Réfugiés which lends support to refugees in order to facilitate their economic and social integration by providing personalized sponsored monitoring. By forging personal, amicable ties with every refugee, Tandem fosters their integration and helps them understand their new social and cultural environment. Refugees benefit from support in their search for work and accommodation, as well as training and assistance in all everyday procedures. 
  • La Cravate Solidaire which helps young people who are out of work or are in need to gain access to the job market and learn the corporate codes. La Cravate Solidaire (The Solidarity Tie) provides caring support to its beneficiaries: it offers a large wardrobe and image coaching to transmit interview and professional codes.

Former world tennis champion, four-time paralympic medalist and Elior Group Solidarities sponsor, Michaël Jérémiasz, stated: "I am convinced that if everyone makes a commitment at their own level, we will be able to build a more supportive society. Commitments are bountiful among Elior Group employees: by giving them a helping hand we are consolidating a network of players committed to citizen initiatives".

Among the association winners of the call for projects, Elior Group Solidarities supports:

  • In France: Tandem Réfugiés, La Cravate Solidaire, La Compagnie de l’Oiseau-Mouche, La Maison de l’Amitié, A Petits Pas Pour Lina, le Hérisson;
  • In the UK: Ordinary to Extraordinary;
  • In Italy: Buona Giornata, Zero Cinco, Aliante società cooperativa sociale;
  • In the USA: Boys and Girls Club of Harford, Give Kids the World’s Village.