ING for Children Foundation

The foundation delivers on its mission through social programmes.

• Smile Camps – free, twelve day therapeutical and educational camps as well as summer and winter camps for groups of 50 children and teenagers plus teachers and mentors. The organisations and schools whose ideas how to spend time at the ING for Children Foundation centre in Wisła are found most interesting qualify for the camps.
• ING Voluntary Services Programme – where ING employees supported by the foundation carry out their own projects together with NGOs, social welfare centres or children's homes. Every employee is entitled to 8 hours of working time to be used for voluntary activities.
• Books – the foundation distributes free of charge books for children published together with ING Bank Śląski S.A. – “Alien”, “Lucjan. The Lion One of Its Kind” and “I have Asperger's Syndrome. Textbook for Students and Teachers”, published by Association "Based in Warsaw" with support from the foundation and the book "Snowman in the fridge" published by the ING Polish Art Foundation. In 2019, the ING Children Foundation donated 3,208 books to schools, libraries, and childcare organizations.
• Orange Power - the support of ING employees for children in their sport activity. Orange Power stands for the support of ING employees for children who want to be active. It enables them to get to know different sports. 

Our programmes

Smile Camps

Throughout the year, the ING for Children Foundation centre in Wisła welcomes organised groups of children and teenagers for free, twelve day therapeutical and educational camps as well as summer and winter camps. The stay ideas are submitted to the foundation by NGOs and schools in the competitions announced on the website: www.ingdzieciom.pl. Every year, we have 22 Smile Camps held at our centre, during which we welcome approximately 1,000 persons.

To read about Smile Camps, visit ING for Children Foundation website and fanpage ING for Children Foundation on Facebook.

ING Voluntary Services Programme

This programme of the ING for Children Foundation is to foster the development of local communities and employee engagement. Volunteers deliver their projects with the financial and technical assistance of the foundation and partnering with non-governmental organisations as well as municipal and commune social welfare centres.

Every employee is entitled to 8 hours of working time to be used for voluntary activities. In 2019, volunteers participated in local initiatives for 7052 hours. They delivered 91 projects all over Poland. Those included projects under the Good Idea grant contest.

To read about Smile Camps, visit ING for Children Foundation website and fanpage ING for Children Foundation on Facebook.

Books

From 2005 to 2010, the foundation supported performance of the Bank’s programme called “In the Company of the Lion”. It was mainly intended to promote bibliotheraphy, i.e. a therapy with the use of adequately prepared texts or books.

The Foundation together with ING Bank Śląski published two books for kids: “Lucjan. The Lion One of Its Kind” and “Alien”. Since then the foundation has  been providing the institutions in need with the above books and since 2017 – with a book entitled “I have Asperger's Syndrome. Textbook for Students and Teachers”, published by Association "Based in Warsaw".

• Lucjan. The Lion One of Its Kind

“Lucjan. The Lion One of Its Kind” is the first-ever Polish bibliotherapeutic book for children suffering from cancer. The story of the key characters – Hania and Lucjan, the Lion – helps children in managing their fears and worries accompanying illness and stay at hospital. On the path to the Tooth Fairy, the characters become friends and start to trust one another, as they need to overcome all adversities and unexpected turns in life. From the programme launch, the book has been received by thousands kids. The book is presented during meetings at oncology and nephrology wards.

• Alien

“Alien” is the second bibliotherapeutic book published under the “In the Company of the Lion” programme. The book was published for siblings and families of autistic children. It was written in cooperation with the Synapsis Foundation. It tells a story of a family in which a long-expected brother of the main character, Kacper, who is an autistic child, is born. The book helps both kids and grown-ups to adapt to a new situation; it teaches tolerance and understanding for the individuality of the title autistic person – Alien. The book has been listed on the Golden List of Books, recommended by the ABCXXI Foundation – All of Poland Reads to Kids. 

• The Snowman in the Fridge

This book by Łukasz Gorczyca and Krzysztof Gawronkiewicz, published by the ING Polish Art Foundation , tells stories about subjects of contemporary artists and why they pursue them. The book encourages discovering artistic potential in everyday activities and is a perfect starting point for talks about art with children aged 6-12. The ING for Children Foundation and the Polish Art Foundation distribute free copies of the book together with the scenarios of workshops in schools, libraries and NGOs.

• I have Asperger's Syndrome. Textbook for Students and Teachers.

It is a unique textbook about the Asperger syndrome which offers hints on how to help children with its symptoms find their place in the society. The textbook published by the Association "Based in Warsaw" has been specially prepared for students and teachers for whom class scenarios were included on its closing pages.

 

Orange Power

Orange Power stands for the support of ING employees for children who want to be active. It enables them to get to know different sports.

Every year, the ING team participates in the "Run Warsaw" event. The event consists of  a 10 kilometre run and a 5 kilometre walk and translates into sports activities for children throughout Poland. ING employees promote a healthy and active lifestyle.

Thanks to the support of ING Bank Śląski, each participant of the Orange Team increases the pool of funds that the ING Children Foundation allocates to the sport activation of children and young people throughout Poland.
In 2020, a special Olympic edition of Orange Power was started. Its goal is to integrate children with movement, sight or hearing disabilities through sport. 

The program is supported by ambassadors:

Alicja Jeromin - Polish disabled athlete specializing in sprint races, seven-time medalist of the Paralympic Games, world and European champion

Michał Pol - Polish sports journalist and blogger, youtuber, editor-in-chief of Przegląd Sportowy in the years 2013–2017

Marcin Ryszka - Twice para-Olympian, World Champion in swimming for blind people.

Our beneficiaries

The ING for Children Foundation beneficiaries are:

• non-governmental organisations,
• schools and kindergartens (e.g. special and inclusive schools),
• community youth centres, and
• hospitals with paediatric wards.

Assistance provided to and activity pursued by the organisation supported by the ING for Children Foundation have to match the objectives and mission of the Foundation.

Accordingly, the foundation does not help organisations which conduct political, trade union or religious activity or private school facilities (kindergartens, schools, universities). Nor does it support an initiative if there is a conflict of interest as far as the statutory goals of the foundation are concerned.

See also