Odebrecht Foundation launches Tribute to the Future campaign

The campaign Tribute to the Future 2018/19 already has been launched and will run through Nov. 30. Team members of the Odebrecht Group, companies and the public can make donations and help support educational projects focusing on the social and productive development and inclusion of youth in the rural areas of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia. To donate, simply access the new site: www.tributoaofuturo.com.

Encouraging a culture of donation and social responsibility since 2004, Tribute to the Future is an Odebrecht Foundation initiative that already has benefited directly and indirectly over 50,000 people. It has offered opportunities to students in the Family Homes of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia, which are educational institutions supported by the Odebrecht Foundation through its Program for Development and Growth Integrated with Sustainability (PDCIS). The students receive an education guided by the concepts of Sustainable Development, which boosts their capacity to generate income through agricultural activities and promotes the responsible and conscientious use of natural resources.

Everyone can participate in the Tribute to the Future and support the development of young farmers.

Participating in the campaign is easy: to donate any amount, simply generate and pay a bank payment slip or use the tax incentives available through deductions on your income tax. For more information, go to the Tribute to the Future website or contact the Odebrecht Foundation via phone +55 (11) 4003-4570 (cost of a local call), WhatsApp +55 (71) 99699-6397 or e-mail (tributoaofuturo@odebrecht.com).

The donations are forwarded to the Municipal Funds for Children and Adolescent Rights (FMDCA). Each fund is managed by a Municipal Council, which launches public bid processes through which institutions can seek funds for projects that promote and defend the rights of children and adolescents. The Agroforest Family Home (Cfaf), Rural Family Home of Igrapiúna (CFR-I) and Rural Family Home of Presidente Tancredo Neves (CFR-PTN), which execute the projects supported by Tribute to the Future, are registered as Civil Society Public Interest Organizations (OSCIP) with the Ministry of Justice.

At these educational institutions, which are part of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet), the students benefitted work on developing proactive behaviors and to transform the lives of their families and communities. “The Family Home teaches us to be true to our values. As multipliers agents, keeping this knowledge isn’t enough, we must share it. We need to put it into practice in our communities, and the school gives us that perspective,” said Ionei Silva, a third-year student at CFR-I.

Contributing to the future

The financial resources raised help to ensure the education of hundreds of adolescents in the Lowlands of Southern Bahia.

“Education is a topic with which we always have been connected. We believe in the power of education and the potential of people, as affirmed in the foundation’s own mission, which is to educate for Life, through Work, to promote Values and surmount Limits. This year, the foundation is commemorating its 30^th anniversary. The Tribute to the Future campaign reinforces the role that each person plays in building a more equitable future,” explained Cristiane Nascimento, Sustainability Director at the Odebrecht Foundation.

To team members at the Odebrecht Group, the moment is a long tradition in which they can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of adolescents and reinforce the spirit of service. Acácio Ballera, from the Atvos Taquari Complex in Costa Rica, has participated in the Tribute to the Future since 2010 and never misses a chance to donate to the initiatives supported by the Odebrecht Foundation. “Doing good is easy. This is a tool that facilitates donations to social projects that support youth and that have adopted education as the main driver of development. It’s a very high-impact effort,” said Ballera.

Remember, Nov. 30 is the deadline for participating in the Tribute to the Future campaign and for helping to transform the lives of young people and their families.

Thanks to the last year’s Tribute to the Future fundraising campaign, over 5,000 people in the Lowlands of Southern Bahia were impacted already in the first half of 2018. See more results in the accountability report from the last campaign. “Raising funds through Tribute to the Future ensures that students from Family Homes have access to quality education in their rural community. This is a time for us to stay engaged with a cause that enables young people to continue living in rural areas with dignity by disseminating knowledge and new agricultural techniques to their families and communities,” said Thiago Maciel, who is responsible for the initiative at the Odebrecht Foundation.