In the VELUX Group, retired and senior employees have established senior clubs to provide an opportunity to keep in contact with former colleagues and the company while partaking in social activities. Some clubs have been around for many years, while others are just starting up.
Østbirk Bygningsindustri’s (ØB) Senior Club was established in 1999 and is one of the oldest in the VELUX Group. It is a very large and very active senior club with 171 members currently, and more joining continuously. They organise a lot of different events such as lectures, dinners, nature walks, visits to different VELUX locations and trips abroad. “When you are retired, it is a great way to keep in touch with colleagues and the company group. It feels like we have just left work. I can only recommend joining,” says Carl Gerstrøm, head of ØB Senior Club. The senior clubs can receive annual support from the Employee Foundation (the amount depends on the number of members) for social activities that contribute to social unity and give the retired employees the opportunity to keep in touch with the company and their colleagues. This year, the senior clubs were awarded double funding to mark the Employee Foundation’s 30th anniversary. “The members of the senior clubs have given many good years to the company group, so it is a pleasure to be able to give something back to them,” says Gitte Hemmingsen from the Employee Foundation. "We are very grateful for the contribution we receive from the Employee Foundation every year, and the members often express their happiness about the benefits we enjoy, both in terms of finances but also ‘in kind’," says Carl Gerstrøm.
There are currently 11 senior clubs in Denmark, Hungary, Poland and France with around 500 members in total
A way to find meaning and make new friends Last year, a senior club was established in NB-PL by former supervisor Czesław Grzempowski. So far the club has 23 members, and has just received the first grant from the Employee Foundation. “I have been active all my life. When I worked as a supervisor, I felt great satisfaction that I could mobilise people to take up challenges posed by the company, which resulted in a positive reception. When I retired, I learnt that in Denmark there are pensioners' clubs set up by former employees who have not been forgotten and are supported by the Employee Foundation. Taking into account the Director's favourable attitude towards the creation of such a club in Gniezno, I accepted this challenge with great pleasure,” says Czesław Grzempowski.
Working in a group allows seniors to re-enter society and make new friends. In a group of peers, seniors don't feel infirm and can confront common problems.
Besides showing former and current employees that VELUX is a company which does not forget about people who worked and contributed to the development of its potential and value, Czesław Grzempowski also sees important value in the social aspect of a senior club: “Working in a group allows seniors to re-enter society and make new friends. In a group of peers, seniors don't feel infirm and can confront common problems. Senior Citizens' Clubs also fill free time, often helping to find the meaning of life and take up new challenges. At the same time they mobilize you to be active and enjoy life. We have only one life, it's important to live it as well as possible,” he says.
ØB’s senior club at a lecture night at the Industrial Museum.
The newly founded senior club in NB-PL.
About the Employee Foundation
The Employee Foundation was established in 1991 to support employees and their families worldwide. Since then, it has made more than 8,100 grants and more than 5,800 employees have received support. At the same time, approx. 2,300 projects in the vicinity of VKR Group companies have benefited from grants from the Employee Foundation.
Grants
Employees that have recieved support
The foundation’s major purposes:
- To support employees and their immediate families in times of distress and in connection with death, accident or illness with serious consequences or children’s final education. The majority of funds goes to this purpose.
- To support non-profit projects within a close radius of the VKR Group’s locations.
- Beyond this, the Employee Foundation confers the annual Villum Kann Rasmussen Award to a selection of employees who exemplify the Model Company Objective. The foundation is also responsible for special programs promoting health and well-being for all employees, e.g. Healthy Habits campaigns and the voluntary work programme, Live a Dream. Read more The Employee Foundation