HRCA Promotes Social Responsibility of Startups

New cooperation between the Church Aid and the Startup Campus

Innovative thinking and value creation are perhaps the two most important keywords in the startup sector. Through the cooperation of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA) and the Startup Campus, the message of the importance of social responsibility is now reaching even more actors in the field.

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Children in the Nyilas Misi Scholarship Program's summar camp

Fotó: jobbadni.hu/Gyula Bartos

The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid Foundation (HRCA) and the Startup Campus have recently signed a cooperation agreement. HRCA and the incubator for startups aim to promote the awareness of social responsibility as widely as possible in the sector of startup companies offering them opportunities to join social projects of HRCA. In all this the two partners want to draw attention to the social activities carried out by HRCA.

This year emphasis will be given to HRCA’s two projects called “Love Box - Christmas Wish” and the “Nyilas Misi Scholarship Program”. The fulfilment of Christmas wishes will start in the fall and will take place online, so that anyone can join the in-kind donation initiative digitally, learn about and fulfil the desire of one or even more children in need. In the case of the Scholarship Program, sponsors can become patrons, Maecenas of talented young people living in modest financial conditions.

Nyilas Misi Scholarship Program aims to support outstandingly talented, socially disadvantaged students in Hungarian educational system within and without the border of Hungary. In addition to financial support, mentors help students participating in the program to develop their talents. 5-12 students participating in Hungarian and foreign-language education in Hungary are invited for the annual competition. Students who are particularly talented in arts, sports or science, humanities, or socially disadvantaged.

The Box of Love project takes place in the Advent Season. It aims to support socially disadvantaged families with cardboard boxes filled with detergents, toiletries. Each year, thousands of children and families benefit from the in-kind support.

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Fotó: jobbadni.hu/Gyula Bartos

"Both programs involve innovative and value-creating thinking, which is important not only for startups, but also for charities working in the field of social responsibility, like HRCA," said Balázs Lutár, Deputy Director of the organisation. “It’s a great pleasure for us to be able to reach out to a new community with our programs, thanks to the Startup Campus and share with them the great and fulfilling experience of helping others,” he added.

Startup Campus is a global program for innovative businesses from the idea phase until market entry. With an international team, an extensive partner network, it provides training and education, incubation, international market entry and investment services in several major cities of the world. Startup Campus is active in global events, with the aim to increase the visibility of Hungary, Central and Eastern Europe, encourage entrepreneurship, and connect the various regional startup ecosystems.

"Already last year, we joined HRCA's call for a Christmas Love Box, and during the pandemic we realized that it became now even more important then ever to support disadvantaged talented students," said Zsolt Kovács, Managing Director of the Startup Campus. “We ourselves, as a startup incubator, invest in talent, and through this cooperation we want to encourage as many startups as possible to help young people in need via the programs of HRCA,” he explained.

The two organizations encourage startups to also get involved in “Let's Erase the Differences” project, the latest fundraising campaign of HRCA, supporting the start of the school year for children in need.