Responsible retailing and community involvement are high on SPAR Austria’s agenda and deeply rooted in its corporate culture. In 2015 alone, SPAR Austria spent approximately €1.4 million on corporate social responsibility initiatives including donations to different local and national charities.

SPAR Austria supports multiple worthy causes on a national and regional scale, from children’s charity donations to support for local food producers. In this article, we look at three recent community involvement initiatives for which SPAR has shown its support.

EUROSPAR Bregenz-Mariahilf raises funds for local cancer patient

To raise funds for a local family whose 3-year-old son, Dario, had to undergo surgery for cancer treatment, the EUROSPAR Bregenz-Mariahilf team in the Vorarlberg region organised a BBQ for the entire community. Despite bad weather, the turnout was fantastic and a total of €600 was raised and donated to Dario’s family.

When presenting the cheque to the family, Store Manager, Sigrid Vögel, said: “Thanks to our loyal customers we were able to support Dario and his family. We are delighted that he is recovering and doing well.”

SPAR Vorarlberg donates €2,000 to children’s charity

Once again, employees of SPAR in Vorarlberg have shown that their hearts are in the right place by collecting and donating €2,000 for local children’s charity, The Hour of the Heart.

Each year during their staff outing, SPAR Vorarlberg organises a lottery and donates the proceeds to a local charity. This year, the money goes to 13-year-old Melissa, who had to have a leg amputated as a result of bone cancer. The money raised will be used for a prosthetic leg, which will help Melissa to cope better with everyday life.

The donation was handed over to Melissa and her family by SPAR Chairwoman of the Works Council, Marianne Scheibel.

SPAR Tyrol supports local producers

It has become an annual tradition for SPAR Carinthia, SPAR Eastern Tyrol and local milk producer, Tirol Milch, to combine efforts in support of the association, Lienzer Brücke, which works with families of people with serious diseases.

Each year on World Milk Day (1 June) and during the following two weeks, €0,10 of each pack of milk sold in SPAR Carinthia and SPAR Eastern Tyrol stores is donated to Lienzer Brücke. This year a total of €1,500 was donated.

When presenting the cheque to the organisation, Paul Bacher, Managing Director of SPAR Carinthia and Eastern Tyrol, said: “We are delighted that we can support this important initiative. We would like to thank our customers in Eastern Tyrol who significantly contributed to this donation by shopping in our SPAR and INTERSPAR stores.”

These are just a few examples of the great ways in which individual retailers and stores within SPAR Austria are involved in their communities and forge long-term partnerships. For more stories like these follow this link