We are with you at the right time

About the project

"Misfortune does not happen to the hills, it happens to people." Life sometimes brings surprises, and sometimes they are very sad. A happy family can find themselves struggling with adversity in a short time. They should not be left alone. Through the "We are with you at the right time" project, since 2012 we have been helping the employees of U. S. Steel Košice and its subsidiary companies who find themselves in a difficult life situation. Our effort is to help these colleagues and their families with young children to get out of social isolation, to recover their mental well-being, to have new experiences and to make friendly contacts.

In the last six years we have helped over 60 families in this way. Each family received one-off financial support from the U. S. Steel Košice Foundation. The children were included in the Wishing Tree project and were pleased with the Christmas gifts bought for them by steelmakers.

The families involved in last year's "We are with you at the right time" project experienced unforgettable moments in various interesting events. We organised for them a family weekend stay at the U. S. Steel Košice recreational center in Medzev, they enjoyed a guided tour of Košice led by a well-known tourist guide, and the marwellous atmosphere of the Košice Peace Marathon. Several families took part for the first time in company events like Family Safety Day or Family Sports Day as well.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

• Demonstrate solidarity with employees who find themselves in distress
• Encourage empathy of the Company’s employees with colleagues who are in adversity

Criteria for selecting employees

When selecting the employees, the following criteria are crucial: the human aspect, defining the problem in the family, the number of children under 18 years of age, the supervisor’s opinion and, of course, the employee’s approval.

The employees are included in the project for one to two years, depending on their individual family situation. In cooperation with the Human Resources Department and the Company´s newspaper Oceľ východu, every year in September we are looking for the employees who:

have been absent from work due to illness for more than 150 days, one of the family members passed away, at least two children under 18 years of age
need help for some other family reasons - seriously ill children

Every year we help about ten selected families.

Responses of employees involved in the project

The employees involved in the project have expressed their positive feedback as follows:

“In my opinion, this project has an enormous significance. For our family it was very good because we could buy Barborka a rehabilitation device which she needs for daily care.”

“No doubt, it is right that the employer is interested in families that have got into troubles.”

“For me and my family it's a great achievement that U. S. Steel noticed that they have employees who, together with their children and families, have their own problems.”

“Children have experiences that they would never experience...”

“Of all the events I most liked ballooning. We would not afford something like that.”

“Thank very much to the management and all the people involved in events for all children, not only from our family; I am grateful to all of you from the bottom of my heart”.

CONTACT

If you know an employee of U. S. Steel Košice, s.r.o. who meets the set criteria and finds himself/herself in a difficult life situation, please let us know.