HS Timber Group continues its ‘Together!’ initiative, now with a focus on education

• The company donates more than 1,000 tablets to disadvantaged children in the areas where it operates, along with enabled Internet subscription
• Supporting education is key to fight long-term effects of the COVID Crisis
• 32 schools in 13 counties are partners in this initiative

In the current social context, when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic restricted physical access to schools in Romania, the factories that HS Timber Group operates in Romania join local communities and donate more than 1,000 tablets (including one-year paid Internet subscription) to 32 schools in 13 counties. The beneficiaries of the donation are socially-disadvantaged children who do not have adequate equipment to participate in the online educational process.

With a total value of more than 272,000 Euro, this donation continues the company's efforts since spring when, under the motto “Together!”, it contributed directly and supported the activities of local authorities and organisations in the fight to prevent the spread of COVID-19, through donations and sponsorships of medical equipment and sanitary materials of over 307,000 Euro.

“Who do we work for, if not for our children?” says Dan Bănacu, General Manager of HS Timber Productions. “What’s more important than education? We cannot stay away from the children when they need our help. The situation generated by this pandemic challenges us all to major changes, and education especially for disadvantaged kids cannot be left aside. We especially appreciate the collaboration of the local school administrations in bringing the equipment to the kids in need.”

Such a school administrator is Judit Istok, director of the Orban Balasz school in Moacșa, Covasna county. She heads a school which is home to 111 children, most of whom have a hard time keeping up with the current schooling system, because of dire social conditions. “Most of these children attend online classes only if we provide the equipment, and what we have as spare equipment is not enough,” says the school director. “Through this donation, 24 children will get a chance, an opportunity to better their future. This will remain a personal device, which can also be used in regular school activities after this challenging times end.”

Marcela Țugulea, director of the Regina Elisabeta school in Rădăuți, is facing similar challenges. “We have student who come from families with several children, so the number of devices is insufficient," says the director. “For these students, a tables with enabled Internet access for a year is an important step in bridging the divide, it is a chance for all to catch up, it’s a chance for better times ahead.”

The support provided by HS Timber Group, in the context of the crisis generated by COVID-19 will continue in all local communities. The initiative is a part of the corporate social responsibility programme, aimed at supporting ambitious projects in the social, education, health and environmental fields, especially in the communities where the Group is present through its production units with effective and unbureaucratic support measures. Especially in this unpredictable time where we need to keep spatial distance, socially we move even closer - Together!

Since entering the Romanian market in 2003 with the opening of the first sawmill in Sebeș, HS Timber Group has become a central pillar of the local communities in which it operates. HS Timber Group Romania currently employs almost 3,000 people. This is the largest number of employees in Romania and a milestone in the history of the group.

About HS Timber Group
HS Timber Group is a long-established wood processing company of Austrian origin with very strong roots in Central and Eastern Europe, especially Romania. Today, the Group primarily operates in the timber industry, but is also involved in lumber trading and bioenergy production. It operates three sawmills and two wooden panel production units in Romania, as well as one sawmill in Germany. Employing around 3,700 people, HS Timber Group is one of Europe’s leading wood processing companies. The Group’s products are sold in around 70 countries across the world. Transparency and an ethically correct behaviour are cornerstones of the company’s security architecture. HS Timber Group GmbH is a company of the Evergreen Private Foundation.