We are taking our 13-year collaboration with the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Türkiye (TEGV) a step further to support children’s fundamental right to quality education by launching the “Dream and Grow” project. Under the Maylo Dream Workshop, the Dream and Grow project combines the power of children’s imagination with the educational aspects of visual arts and drama workshops.

Children’s Dreams Grow in the Maylo Dream Workshop

In the Maylo Dream Workshop, where we meet with children in 61 units across 27 cities in Turkey, there are two different workshops: visual arts and drama. In the visual arts workshop, we focus on plastic arts, aiming for children to gain life skills such as creativity, teamwork, communication, and self-confidence. Inspired by imagination and exploration, children create artistic products that express their emotions and thoughts. Learning fundamental concepts of plastic arts, gaining awareness of significant artists like Matisse and their works, and developing design skills using various materials are all part of the program we offer at the Maylo Dream Workshop.

In our second workshop, drama, children not only enhance their improvisation skills but also learn to express their emotions, thoughts, and experiences through drama. The drama workshop aims to help children improve their communication skills by immersing them in the magical world of theater, allowing their imaginations to run wild.

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Sensitivity is in Our Nature…

From the very first day of our existence, we have approached nature with sensitivity and kindness. We do not touch natural forests for any of our products. We produce our products using environmentally friendly packaging that is biodegradable.

To leave a better future for the next generations, we collaborated with ecording to launch seed balls, contributing to the expansion of Turkey’s unique nature. Every Sofia package purchased turned into a seed ball, becoming a beacon of hope for our future. With seed balls launched from the air via ecoDrone, we supported the increase of trees and biodiversity, particularly in hard-to-reach areas of Turkey.

In the learning unit, which aims to bring together 3500 children with qualified education a year, the education of children between the ages of 6 and 14 will be supported throughout the year. The unit with the largest capacity among TEGV learning units also draws attention with its sustainability and environmentally friendly architecture.

https://havadayiz.com/360/tegv_corlu/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL99k48V1HA

In the Covid-19 period, we contacted our Ministry of Health in line with our responsibility principle and conveyed that we want to donate our examination tablecloths that we produce as Lila Kağıt. In this context, we donated 100 thousand roll examination tablecloths to all our public hospitals and ambulances under the guidance of the General Directorate of Public Hospitals. Together with Çorlu, where our production facility is located, we also met the 3-month hygienic cleaning paper needs of state hospitals and ambulances in Tekirdağ and Çerkezköy.

As Lila Kağıt, we donated 20 laptops to Çorlu Melahat Kozar Primary School for tablet / computer, which is one of the most important needs of our children in the distance education process under the current conditions. We donated tablets to the Association for Supporting Contemporary Life. Finally, we continued donating tablets with our brand Maylo, the biggest supporter of our children’s education, and in cooperation with Getir, we donated 250 tablets to the New World Campaign of the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV).

Lila Kağıt, the leading cleaning paper manufacturer in Turkey, asked our children “What is the World in Your Dream?” We designed specially packaged “Picture Festival” products from the drawings of our children, depicting their answer. Maylo contributed to the education of our children who attended TEGV events with a part of the income to be obtained from the sales of Toilet Paper, Towel Paper and Napkin, which are offered for sale in ŞOK markets as of 21 October 2020.

As Lila Kağıt, we are continuing our various studies in order to increase women’s employment and create the necessary awareness in order to ensure that women take office in higher positions and we are a corporate and global member of the LEAD Network. In addition, we are the first signatory from Turkey of CEO Pledge, which we have committed to increase our current female employee and manager ratio by 5% until 2023.

In 2019, 2 tons and in 2020, 1.8 tons of electronic waste turned into education. Contribution was made to the education of a total of 37 children.

As Lila Kağıt, we implemented the “10 Thousand Saplings Memorial Forest for Our Future” project in cooperation with our upper segment brand Sofia & Migros & TEMA. We put our Sofia branded product, which was produced exclusively for Migros, for sale at Migros as the main product of the project, and included all other products in the project with a sticker. With the income obtained from the sales of these products, we donated 10,000 saplings to Tema.

In 2018, as Lila Kağıt, we opened TEGV Fibria Learning Unit in Tekirdağ with Fibria, one of the leading forestry companies in Brazil, and the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey in order to bring our different business partners together. The teaching unit, which we opened on November 20, World Children’s Rights Day, is the first corporate social responsibility project implemented by an institution of foreign origin in support of the Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation. We aim to support the education of a total of 2,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 throughout the year in the learning unit, which has a total capacity of 78 child seats. In the unit where 100 volunteers will train, our only goal is for children born with different skills to discover their own potential and abilities and to receive qualified education. This unit is also the first TEGV unit to incorporate today’s educational model Maker Workshop “Making by Experiment”. In other words, children are trained in a learning model by experience. In the learning unit, which has a capacity of 78 child seats, a total of 2,000 children between the ages of 6-14 will be supported throughout the year. Since its opening, it has provided quality education to 7,500 children.

As Lila Kağıt, education and environment is our priority, but we also desire to support culture-arts and sports activities from time to time and we take steps in this regard. In 2018, we sponsored the From Underwater to the Future with TEGV Exhibition, which consists of 29 underwater photographs taken by Underwater Photography Artist Taci Yücedere, and brought them together with art lovers at the Naval Museum. With the income from this exhibition, we contributed to the education of 525 children. This was our 3rd photography exhibition and we started the first one in 2011 with the photography exhibition “From A Distance Close”. The second one was an exhibition called “A City on Two Collars” in 2013, consisting entirely of Istanbul photographs. We have contributed to the education of more than 1,200 children through exhibitions so far.

Believing that creating this awareness will be possible by realizing different projects with our different business partners, we launched the “25 Thousand Books for TEGV” campaign in June 2018 in cooperation with Lila Kağıt and Migros. Within the scope of the project that is valid in Migros stores in 81 provinces of Turkey, we have provided 25 thousand books to be donated to the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) with the income of specially designed Maylo products.

Plastic caps collected in Lila Kağıt offices and factories are regularly sent to the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association of Turkey (TOFD). This project contributes to the transformation of the caps collected into wheelchairs for those in need.

We love to support social responsibility projects with our intellectual capital, that is, our employees, which is our most precious capital to touch all stakeholders. In this sense, we participate in the Istanbul Marathon and other marathons every year, especially with our General Manager Alp Öğücü and our colleagues. In the marathon, donations were collected by Lila employees for the education of more than 450 children on behalf of TEGV.

As a country, we pay approximately $ 4 billion per year for forestry and paper products industrial imports. Because, unfortunately, there is no policy for industrial forestry and pulp facilities in our country. This causes both the furniture and the paper and cardboard industry to be externally dependent. In 2014, we signed a project for industrial purposes by sponsoring ENAT (Industrial Tree Agriculture Inc.) on industrial tree agriculture in order to create an awareness about the environment and sustainability, and that an understanding of economy based on import rather than export will add value to the country’s economy and ‘Sofia Forests’. We implemented our ‘Does Not Destroy’ campaign. In 2016, we carried our “Sofia Does Not Destroy Forests” campaign to the second phase with the support of our esteemed artist Ediz Hun in order to spread awareness on this issue. Since the start of our project, we have planted 50 thousand trees. ENAT will get its first harvest in 20 years. With these and similar projects that we plan to continue by increasing the number of sapling planting every year; In 2023, we aim to plant 700 thousand trees in an area the size of 600 football fields (3.5 million square meters). In line with this future goal, we will provide Turkey with forest as much as Lila Kağıt’s sales rate in the paper business every year. With our project, we aim to reduce the cutting pressure on natural forests and to meet the increasing need for raw materials in our country, like developed countries that invested years ago in this field. Thus, we aim to reduce our dependence on the foreign market, prevent erosions and carbon emission to air, and contribute to rural development by opening new employment areas. Because the creation of new planting areas is also very relevant to our villages. There should be peasants who will take care of these areas, watch over these trees and do the necessary labor. The villagers earn money and have a job this way, and migration to cities is prevented.

Since the start of our project, we have planted 50 thousand trees. In the project where we will get the first harvest of ENAT 20 years later, our goal: To plant 700 thousand trees in an area the size of 600 football fields (3.5 million square meters) in 2023.

In 2013, the photographs of our Chairman of the Board of Directors Orhan Öğücü were also featured in an exhibition named “Two Collars One City”, which consisted entirely of Istanbul photographs. The income from the exhibition was donated to the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey, and we contributed to the education of 430 children through this exhibition.

In 2011, the photography exhibition titled “From Distance Close” was our first exhibition to support education. The income obtained from the exhibition, which also includes photographs of our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Orhan Öğücü, was donated to the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey and we contributed to the education of 257 children on the occasion of this exhibition.

Our children are our future and our children receive qualified education for a sustainable future is one of the first issues we attach importance to in the context of corporate social responsibility. With this in mind, we have been cooperating with TEGV since 2010, which has been devoted to quality education for years. With our first social responsibility project in the paper industry, we have been transferring some of the income from the sales of Maylo products to the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey since November 2010. In order to create this awareness, we have been using the TEGV logo on our Maylo branded products since 2010. Within the framework of our cooperation with TEGV, we have contributed to the education of more than 20 thousand children so far and we continue to contribute to the education of more and more children with our sales.

One of the issues we value and are trying to develop is the University & Industry cooperation project, in this sense, we have universities that we cooperate with, and we help our young people to choose their profession and prepare themselves for the business life before graduation.

Lila Kağıt employees hold Meetings with Non-Governmental Organizations every year and voluntarily support the Non-Governmental Organizations they have determined. Supported until today, Koruncuk, Bir Oyuncak da Sen Ver and so on. In addition to all these, Lila Kağıt also provides cleaning paper support to associations and schools in need. ECADEM, TEGV, Mor Çatı, Public Schools, Turkish Cancer Association.

The Öğücü family from Gaziantep, who are also the founders of Lila Kağıt, acts with the responsibility of bringing back some of what they earned from the society. Founded in 2010; Working with public institutions, there is a Voluntary Service Foundation with the aim of determining local needs and building educational, cultural and health facilities to donate to the public. Orhan Öğücü, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lila Kağıt, works as the vice chairman of the board of directors of the Voluntary Service foundation.

Among the services provided by the Voluntary Service Foundation since its establishment;

• Voluntary Service Foundation Inal Aydınoğlu Dormitory

• Voluntary Service Foundation Kadıköy Aysel-Abdullah Öğücü Girls’ Dormitory

• Voluntary Service Foundation Kadıköy Mustafa Saffet Anatolian High School

• Voluntary Service Foundation Pendik Mustafa Saffet Science High School

• Volunteer Service Foundation Ataşehir Mustafa Saffet Cultural Center

• Voluntary Service Foundation Inal Aydınoğlu Secondary School

• Volunteer Service Foundation Gaziantep İnal Aydınoğlu Primary School

• Voluntary Service Foundation Çorlu Aysel Abdullah Öğücü Secondary School

• Voluntary Service Foundation Gaziantep Evren and Ahmet Öğücü Kindergarten

• Voluntary Service Foundation Gaziantep Aysel Öğücü Kindergarten

• Gaziantep Bey Neighborhood Aysel Abdullah Öğücü Street

• Akfırat Kindergarten Lions Gaziantep