Crédit Agricole

Christmas Shoebox

Crédit Agricole Bank Serbia started with a charity action called Christmas Shoebox a few years back. Every employee got an invitation from Good Fairy Dobrila to join her team and become a Good Fairy to an unknown child. She put together clear instructions for the employees – find a shoebox, fill it with sweets, toys and educational items, include a Christmas card and wrap it nicely. Write the age of a child on the wrapping paper and you’re done with your ‘fairy business’.

Employees of "Metro Cash & Carry", after hearing about the ’fairy business’ liked it so much that they were invited to join the ’fairy’ team. Annually there are now around 500 Christmas Shoeboxes prepared from the employees of the two companies for children from socially vulnerable families and children without parents in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis.

However, this is just a part of the story. Every year, there is a special event as well. Credit Agricole Srbija and METRO Cash & Carry, in cooperation with City Department of the Social Protection of the City of Belgrade and a non-governmental charity organisation Food Bank organises at the beginning of December in Sava Center a charity event Christmas Shoebox for 900 children from socially vulnerable families in Belgrade and also for children without parents and tries to make them happy with 900 gift pacakges from Santa Claus.

The companies donate together EUR 10.000 for the gift packages for the event, while Credit Agricole Srbija donates an additional play called Christmas Fairytale played by ’a real Fairy Dobrila’.

There are more than 6.000 children up to the age of 10 in Belgrade only whose families are in such a difficult financial situation that they are not able to satisfy even the basic existential needs for food, and that is why they use Soup Kitchens. Also there are children without parents and they are taken care of by the Social protection institutions.