OREANDA-NEWS. March 06, 2012. The Rompetrol Group continues in 2012 the partnership with Ovidiu Rom Association and supports early education for children coming from families with low incomes, through the program “Each child in kindergarten”. The level of contribution to this social cause reached in 9 years a value of EUR 200.000.

“Education and culture are essential for personal and professional development, inside the Rompetrol Group and within the communities where we perform our operations. The partnership with Ovidiu Rom during these 9 years generated positive results and benefits for all stakeholders, and what is most important it added value to the community and a second chance for the children coming from poor families – declares Alexey Golovin, Director of Communication and Marketing Department of the Rompetrol Group.

The program “Each child in kindergarten” was launched in 2010 by Ovidiu Rom in association with Ministry of Education and Research and managed to increase the number of enrolled children in kindergarten, with daily attendance. In 2012, through this programme, 1.400 disadvantage children are going to the kindergarten every day in 36 locations, 20 communities and 12 counties. Parents receive a monthly financial allowance of 50 RON as a social ticket conditioned by the children’s daily presence in kindergarten. Ovidiu Rom also train teachers in modern teaching methods and strategies in order to guide the children to a following success in the first school year.

According to co-founder Leslie Hawke, "Rompetrol was Ovidiu Rom's very first corporate donor. They have provided major support every year since 2004 and, in time Rompetrol has continued to be critical to our success and to raising public awareness of the importance of educating all of Romania’s children. Continuity and communication between funders and NGOs are essential to effective CSR efforts.

Ovidiu Rom's other co-founder, Romanian teacher Maria Gheorghiu, added: "If poor children aren't exposed to early learning opportunities, they never catch up to the other children. Early education is crucial to lowering the school dropout rate and even crime rates. Fortunately, Rompetrol's leaders understand this.”

The Rompetrol Group is actively involved in social responsibility programs through its “Energy comes from the heart” platform. This platform includes the national program "Together for each and everyone" and other projects from environment protection and healthcare domain. In the last three years there were implemented 55 community intervention projects in all Romanian counties, with an investment of 750,000 USD for the direct benefit of 200,000 persons. Moreover, The Rompetrol Group is involved in charity and sponsorship activities, having collaborations for supporting SMURD, Ovidiu Rom Asociation, Civil Society Gala, or being a partner of the prestigious George Enescu International Festival.