Charity
Russian Railways puts social responsibility at the heart of its corporate strategy. The objectives and core principles of the charity activities are set forth in the Charity and Sponsorship PolicyApproved by the Board of Directors of Russian Railways on November 8, 2016.. Under this Policy, charity predominantly covers regions of the Company’s footprint and prioritises institutions, foundations, and performance groups working with Russian Railways. Relations with local communities are governed by the Russian Railways Group’s regional policy.
The charity spending in 2019 amounted to ca. RUB 4.5 bn. In 2019, our charity initiatives focused on:
- delivering targeted aid to retired railway employees, honoured railway employees, and veterans of World War II;
- supporting vocational education, primarily industry-specific universities and colleges;
- supporting municipal educational institutions situated in the BAM area;
- promoting healthy lifestyle, children’s and mass sports;
- providing assistance in disaster management and support to those affected by natural disasters;
- rendering assistance to children and adults with disabilities, and children without parental care;
- supporting charitable programmes of cultural and historical importance;
- supporting annual cultural events and festivals.
Every year, Russian railways celebrates the day of railway workers with a family sports event and a charity run called Reaching Our Goal. The participants compete at distances of 500, 1,520, 5,000, and 10,000 metres. In addition, the charity run programme includes a concert, while the event area offers family recreation spots, children’s playgrounds, and sports facilities.
In 2019, the run was organised jointly with Russian Railways and 13 charities, including the Life Line, a charity foundation for saving seriously ill children. 17,900 people participated in the event in 20 cities where the Company operates, helping to raise RUB 12.1 m for charity foundations.