Donation € 30,000 to the SOS Children's Village

Lekenik/Osijek, May 15, 2025 - PBZ Group, a part of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, within its humanitarian project "Doing Good Every Day" and Visa card with a Heart, donated € 30,000.00 to SOS Children's Village Croatia. This is the 95th donation by PBZ Group within this project, and SOS Children's Village Croatia used the donated funds to equip a sensory room in the Children's Village Lekenik in the amount of € 18,139.00 and to equip housing units with air conditioning in the SOS Youth Community in Osijek in the amount of € 11,861.00. The donation was granted in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, a long-time partner of PBZ Group in this humanitarian project, and is part of supporting the Ministry's project entitled "For a better life for children in social care homes". The donation was presented on behalf of the PBZ Group by Mislav Blažić, President of the Management Board of PBZ Card, at the SOS Children's Village Lekenik, and Andrej Bilić, Regional Director, Retail Affairs at PBZ, at the SOS Youth Community in Osijek.  

"This donation fills me with special joy because every opportunity we have to improve the quality of life of children and young people in Croatia is extremely important and precious to us. I am especially pleased that as part of our "Doing Good Every Day" project and Visa Card with a Heart, we have helped SOS Children's Village Croatia – the organization known for its great care and assistance to neglected children. I hope this donation will cheer up the users of SOS Children's Village Croatia, make their play more enjoyable and improve their quality of life. I am also pleased that this donation will also help the employees of SOS Children's Village Croatia in their daily work and the effort they invest in helping and improving the lives of children without parents and without adequate parental care," said Mislav Blažić, President of the Management Board of PBZ Card.

The SOS Children's Village Croatia Association is a non-governmental and non-profit organization that works to help children who do not have parents or parental care, and the assistance is provided through the four principles of the SOS Children's Village: SOS Mothers, SOS Brothers and Sisters, SOS Houses and SOS Villages. In this way, children are provided with a safe, family environment suitable for further development. The association also provides assistance to young people who, after completing primary school, go to the SOS Youth Community where, under the 24/7 care of educators, they complete secondary education and look for their first jobs. Trusted partners, such as the PBZ Group, also help them on this journey.

"It is a real pleasure to enter into cooperation with such an aware company as the PBZ Group. I want to express gratitude on behalf of our children and young people to all the big-hearted people who have recognized the need for family-type care, which our Association has been providing for 33 years. With this commendable donation, our children and young people will now be able to progress even more carefree on their path to independence. New air conditioners have been installed in two SOS Youth Communities in Osijek, thanks to which about twenty young people will have a peaceful sleep throughout the summer. A sensory room has been equipped in the SOS Children's Village Lekenik, with which our experts can now conduct special therapeutic procedures for the fastest and best recovery of the children entrusted to our care," said Ms. Višnja Tuškan-Krupić, National Director of the SOS Children's Village Croatia Association.

The donation granted to SOS Children’s Village Croatia is a part of the socially responsible business project of PBZ Group, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group member, which the Group has been implementing under the name “Doing Good Every Day“. This project has been continuously implemented by the PBZ group since 2008, providing aid to national, long-term projects for the welfare of children and young people and other persons in need of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, setting aside 10 cents for each transaction made with a Visa card with a Heart, with no additional cost for card holders. So far, PBZ Group has granted more than € 5 million for the project “Doing Good Every Day” and realised 95 donations, including hospitals and social care homes throughout Croatia. More information on the project's achievements can be found at www.cinimdobro.hr.