AXA Hearts in Action: Altruism across the GCC

AXA's aim was to create a program based on simple principles of solidarity, help and sharing. Today, nearly 17,000 AXA Hearts in Action volunteers around the world have been actively making their skills, time and generosity available to some 1,300 non-profit organizations that help restore people's life confidence.

To keep in this tradition, AXA Gulf has partaken this year by engaging volunteers to join in an environment protection initiative by cleaning specific public areas. A region-wide movement from Oman to Bahrain and the UAE has joined AXA's Hearts in Action program to contribute by unifying and gathering employees who have different religions and cultures, but who are all connected by their interest in philanthropic actions.

In Dubai, AXA volunteers decided to clean a part of Ras Al Khor's Wildlife Sanctuary with the cooperation of the Dubai Municipality. A total of 210 participants, amongst them employees, brokers and suppliers, gathered on different sites, and collected a total of 1350 Kg of garbage and waste.

Engr. Hamdan Al Shaer, Director of the Environment Departments at Dubai Municipality says:

"There is a crucial need to preserve the natural haven of Ras Al Khor. It is threatened by inorganic waste such as plastic that does not assimilate into the environment and is not biodegradable. We welcome it when companies come to us saying they would like to clean up a public area or would like to be part of an environmental cause. I hope this will encourage more companies to come forward and be part of sustainable development in the UAE."

Today Dubai Municipality came to the AXA offices to make a note of the efforts that were pulled together on that memorable day and express gratitude to all the volunteers.

This first AXA Hearts in Action event, focused on an environmental concern, tied in perfectly with the new sensitivity of AXA Gulf towards ecological issues and the new initiatives that were taken, such as recycling paper and reducing waste. With the cooperation of local Municipalities and the continuous support of AXA's employees, we hope to further develop philanthropic actions across the Gulf region.