Banca Comercială Română (BCR) and Foundation Conservation Carpathia have signed a strategic partnership to contribute to the development of communities in the Făgăraș Mountains area through environmental and financial education projects.

The partnership aims to strengthen and develop several key areas for the community and involves the following pillars:

Education:

• BCR supports the operation of Foundation Conservation Carpathia’s Richita Nature Exploration and Activity Centre, thus facilitating free access to the programmes run there for children from the Făgăraș Mountains.
• The Richita Centre which opened in 2021, is located in the heart of the Rucăr area forest, thereby offering children optimal conditions to discover nature. Activities there take place mostly outside in nature all year round. The permanent staff and specially trained nature educators come from the communities around the Făgăraș Mountains.
• The Centre is a model of sustainable development both because of the content of the programmes delivered and because it contributes to the development of the community by creating jobs and uses local products and services, generating income for the community.
• To date, approximately 1,000 children have benefited from the educational programmes run at the Richita Nature Exploration and Activity Centre.
• At the same time, BCR, through the national School of Money programme, contributes to improving the financial knowledge of the communities around the Făgăraș Mountains. So far, workshops have been held for about 700 children in Brasov and Sibiu counties, and through the partnership, will be extended to Argeș county also.

Financial:

• BCR joins Foundation Conservation Carpathia’s efforts to preserve and create the largest forested national park in the Făgăraș Mountains and provides a special donation button on the George digital banking platform. Those who use the platform can thereby contribute to the foundation’s conservation efforts, ecological reconstruction and community projects.

“Together with our partners, we aim to contribute to the development of the communities in the Făgăraș Mountains area both socially and environmentally. Our mission, through the School of Money, is to help Romanians to better and more efficiently manage their resources for a balanced and prosperous life. We are happy to be able to bring these values to the Carpathian Mountains and at the same time contribute to biodiversity conservation.”

Nicoleta Deliu-Pașol, BCR Communications & CSR Director

“Education is the first step, and one of the most important steps, we can take for nature. Although it may seem natural and simple, we need guidance to understand the importance of nature, to get to know it and to get closer to it. Through education programmes developed by Foundation Conservation Carpathia we help children around the Făgăraș Mountains to become ambassadors for nature and at the same time lay the foundations for a sustainable development model for future generations. In addition, programmes such as Junior Rangers give local children a long-term perspective for a job in their native area. We are happy to have a reliable partner and hope to identify solutions for the development of a new nature education centre in the Făgăraș Mountains area.”

Ioana Duică, Education Programme Specialist, Foundation Conservation Carpathia

In addition to these initiatives, Banca Comercială Română (BCR) aims to support Foundation Conservation Carpathia in the construction of its second educational centre in the Făgăraș Mountains area. The company will provide support by identifying and accessing financial grants from national and international programmes, with the involvement of the bank’s team specialised in funding programmes.

In parallel, it will initiate and run fundraising campaigns from the bank’s individual and corporate clients, with the support of the CSR and digital banking teams. The collaboration between Banca Comercială Română (BCR) and Foundation Conservation Carpathia will last for at least 5 years.

 

About BCR

Banca Comercială Română (BCR), a member of the Erste Group, is one of the largest financial groups in Romania, including universal banking operations (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets) as well as leasing, private pension and home banking businesses.

BCR offers a full range of financial products and services through a network of 20 business centres and 18 mobile offices dedicated to companies and 319 retail units located in most of the country’s cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, 54% of which are cash-only units. BCR is Romania’s No.1 bank in the transaction banking market, with BCR customers benefiting from an extensive national network of ATMs and multi-functional machines – around 2,000 machines, and full banking services through Internet banking, Mobile banking, Phone-banking and E-commerce.

For more information, please contact the Communications team: catalin.ionita@bcr.ro