Voices for Change

Domino effect to eradicate hunger

THE CONVIDARTE PROJECT COLLABORATES DIRECTLY WITH THE PUIG HEADQUARTERS IN ARGENTINA AND INVOLVES ITS EMPLOYEES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER AND POVERTY.

“[...] It is important that what Puig is doing has an impact on other companies in order to generate a domino effect that will further and better combat poverty and hunger”

“The partnership with Convidarte gives the volunteers from Puig an important leading role and this means the impact will be greater too.”

The situation after the pandemic in Latin America has been catastrophic. While conditions were already precarious, levels of absolute poverty have risen all over the world. In this context of Covid-19, the Convidarte initiative was launched with the main goal of relieving hunger among the most vulnerable children and families in Buenos Aires.

The project began with a group of friends and neighbors who cooked meals at home and then took them to a canteen for people in need. In just a few days the number of people cooking multiplied exponentially. Before long this led to the formation of a network of thousands of volunteers cooking and distributing food to numerous homes and children's canteens around Buenos Aires. Today the team counts on more than 3,000 volunteers who feed over 6,000 families.

Convidarte is already a participant on the Makers program of Invisible Beauty Makers, but on top of that the Puig affiliate in Argentina also wanted to work directly with the project. Pedro Escudero, Americas Executive VP, explained to us that it is very important for employees to have opportunities like the one offered by this project, because “becoming involved in such a direct way to improve society generates incredible engagement”. “The partnership with Convidarte gives the volunteers from Puig an important leading role and this means the impact will be greater too.” For their part, the founders of Convidarte know that this type of cooperation is very effective because it makes the volunteers feel responsible for feeding the people they help, and this bond leads to empowerment and commitment.

In a country such as Argentina, where more than half of the children live in poverty and food insecurity grows day by day, Pedro Escudero highlighted that it is important that what Puig is doing has an impact on other companies in order to generate a domino effect that will further and better combat poverty and hunger. And at Convidarte, they are quite clear that the key to achieving a more egalitarian and prosperous society is social responsibility assumed by everyone, and that this demands effort, sacrifices, teamwork, commitment and unity.

Finally, Pedro Escudero stressed that the Invisible Beauty Makers program is a very valuable resource for Puig in its pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and that “activities such as Convidarte are clear proof that we are tackling SDGs No. 1 and 2 on the 2030 Agenda”. Apart from this direct cooperation, the experience of Convidarte on the Invisible Beauty Makers program has been very enriching. They explained that they have learned to prioritize goals, to acquire new tools for internal and external communication and, most importantly, to raise funds.