The Banco Sabadell Foundation’s promotion of corporate volunteering programmes has two benefits: it positively impacts people and institutions as well as volunteers, and gives them the opportunity to add value to society while enhancing their personal growth and satisfaction.

This initiative is part of Sabadell’s Commitment to Sustainability, which seeks to include in the company’s strategy environmental, social and governance commitments. In particular, it is part of the commitment to work towards a fairer and more cohesive society, in areas such as better job opportunities for vulnerable groups or the promotion of young talent.

Some of the initiatives that the Foundation supports in collaboration with several institutions are described below. The Bank’s employees are involved in these initiatives as mentors.

Celera mentoring programme: helping talented young people achieve their full potential

Celera seeks to identify exceptionally talented young people to provide them with tools to allow them to enhance all their personal and professional skills. Each year, mentors from Banco Sabadell participate in the project and, in this year’s edition, we were honoured to have the participation of Belén Sánchez Sanjuan, Assistant General Manager and Central Regional Manager for Banco Sabadell, as programme mentor, who pointed out the synergies and lessons learned for both parties:

The Celera programme selects 10 exceptional young individuals to give them resources, training and opportunities over three years. It has been a real pleasure to have the opportunity to get to know the participants. They are really outstanding and they have an inquisitive mind and a positive attitude. Furthermore, it is a privilege to participate in the mentoring process of one of them. This process has been very enriching for me. Thanks to this programme, I have been exposed to a very different way of thinking (from another generation), with other aspirations and a very disruptive view of life. They have a bright future ahead and it is important for me to contribute to their development, building a relationship of friendship and harmony.

B-Value: social transformation of social entities through innovation

The B-Value acceleration programme is an initiative co-promoted by the Banco Sabadell Foundation and the Ship2B Foundation that supports the transformation of the third sector through innovation. Over nine months, the selected institutions work with more than 160 mentors, key professionals in strategic areas, providing over 450 hours of mentorship and training. During the final event, the Demo Day, the institutions pitch their projects and the programme’s Awards Ceremony takes place.

The 42 Banco Sabadell volunteers that have participated as mentors in this year’s edition have a fundamental role in helping the institutions develop their projects from a strategic perspective and strengthen their value proposition. Gloria Muñoz, Mortgage Specialist at Banco Sabadell, tells us about her experience:

My experience in B-Value was extremely positive. Getting the chance to know people that work to help others is a very enriching experience. When I learned about the other projects that had participated during the Demo Day, I was very excited by their pitches and liked all of them. I wanted to do more, not only for the Foundation I mentored, but for everyone there. Looking forward to the next edition!

Escape Fake: offering young people tools to inform themselves critically and consciously

This training and social innovation programme, in collaboration with the Exit Foundation and Mobile Week, seeks to provide vulnerable young people aged 16 to 21 with the tools and encourage the critical consumption of contents. The project seeks to empower them to be able to inform themselves critically and consciously, promote digital literary and provide them with the skills to face a future without fake news. The programme had the involvement of 10 mentors from Banco Sabadell. Ming-Ya Wang, Digital Project Manager – Marketing Digital, told us how important it was for her to be part of this programme:

Being a mentor has allowed me to learn the concerns and interests of young people in the programme in terms of information, as well as understand their reality. It was a challenge because the programme took place during exam season, but without a doubt, we achieved great results. For me, it is very important that the company I work for also has social impact; therefore, being involved in programmes like Escape Fake as mentor or facilitator fulfils this mission.

Leader Coach: improving the employability of socially vulnerable young people

The project, carried out in collaboration with the Exit Foundation, aims to combat school failure and improve future youth employability. The 40 employees of Banco Sabadell that participated as volunteers in this year’s two editions have supported young people through coaching and mentoring and work in pairs. The programme ended on 1 December. Judith Hernández, HR Technician, describes this programme as a very powerful and enriching experience that is difficult to explain in a few words:

Having the opportunity to work hand in hand with these young people is enriching for them and for us. These alliances that coach and coachee have created, despite the age difference between us which could have been seen as a handicap beforehand, have been palpable as the project progressed. In my particular case, working with my youngster has given us conversations about academics, but also about life in general (hobbies, dreams, plans for the future, etc.), opportunities to be closer to their reality, after all. Seeing their progress, motivation and empowerment in each of the sessions has been a joy. As in all volunteering projects in which I had the pleasure of participating, I am taking more than I think I have given. This project is pure magic, and these young people are, without any doubt, the future!

Mentoring Programme at the CCTA: developing skills for the professional future

Young students from the University of Alicante are accompanied for two months by professionals from Banco Sabadell’s Centre for Technological Expertise of Alicante (CCTA, for its acronym in Spanish). Together, they work on a technological challenge that allows them to develop key competences and skills necessary to face their professional future. 13 professionals from the CCTA have participated as mentors in this second edition, which will end on 19 December. Christian Cortés, IT Manager at CCTA, explains what participating as a volunteer in this programme has meant for him and how the students’ positive feedback is the most rewarding part of the entire mentoring experience:

It is comforting to feel that we are helping university students to approach the actual professional world. By developing a project linked to sustainability, we are promoting the soft skills that will increase students’ chances of entering the job market. It is paramount to acknowledge that both students and professionals are people and as such, we learn from each other what we will never find on Google: experience.