Living our values in Finland

The number of low-income families with children is increasing due to economic situation in the country. That's why this year DS Smith in Finland is focusing its traditional Christmas charity on the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and Finnish Red Cross´s Christmas Spirit Campaign.

The campaign gathers funds and then donates gift cards to low-income families with children. Those families can use their gift cards in the local grocery shops and buy food to put on their Christmas table. 

Participating in a Christmas charity project 

The company’s contribution is a great action, but even better is to see how the staff are living the company values and caring for the world around us. In order to demonstrate that, the employees of all six Finnish sites took part in a charity project by donating more than hundred Christmas gifts to “Joulupuu” (Christmas tree) campaign. All the gifts are new or handmade and those will be delivered to the families, who live in the same geographical area of each site, and who´s children would otherwise not get any gift from Santa Claus.

One of the people who brought Christmas presents is Maritta Heikkilä. Maritta works in the customer service centre in Tampere and also does incredible handcraft work. So among other things, she bought a little doll and created a mini version of the Finnish maternity package for the doll. It includes self-sewn doll clothes, some baby equipment and of course the doll´s first bed made by a cardboard box. "I think every child deserves a Christmas gift regardless of the family's financial situation!" says Maritta, a mother of three and grandma of three little girls.

An inclusive effort

We used to think that men, especially those who do the hard work at the plants, are less caring. But that´s not true. Kai Kolho from the Tampere box plant, a Finnish member of EWC and father of two grown-up boys, told us that he wanted to participate because children without Christmas presents is heartbreaking: "For example I have given to charity by collecting money for women’s shelter and Petrozavodsk children's home, and I have had a sponsored child called Amira, in Nepal, for almost twenty years. Now I brought a couple of Christmas gifts, because although it is a small thing to do for me, it gives me a lot enjoy – not to mention the happiness of the children who get the gifts at Christmas! "

All those children who will get our gifts will be in our hearts when we are with our nearest and dearest this Christmas.

DS Smith Finland wishes all the staff a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and a special thank you to all the employees who took part in the charity. Because we care!