“Social responsibility and community engagement are integral to a thriving workplace.”
Advertorial by Telefónica Tech
Earlier this year, friends, family, and colleagues of Michael and Kylie Steinberg gathered at Ballymena Showgrounds to raise thousands of pounds for charities that are extremely important to the county Antrim couple. The previous year, Michael and Kylie had experienced the tragic loss of their 22-week-old twin sons and wanted to give something back to the charities who had been helpful to them at an incredibly difficult time – Remember My Baby (RMB) and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.
Telefónica Tech
The football match saw two teams, one captained by Michael and one by his best friend, play a full 90-minute match in sponsored shirts and raised over £12,000 for the worthy causes. Michael’s employer, Telefónica Tech, sponsored one of the teams as part of its commitment to putting employees at the heart of its community initiatives.
Speaking of the success of the event, Michael Steinberg, Technical Services Engineer at Telefónica Tech UK&I said: “We established Two of a Kind to honour our sons. The support from RMB and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was incredible during the hardest time in our lives, and we wanted to give back to both charities and it seemed fitting to do so around the first anniversary of losing our boys. I shared the idea of the football match with my workplace, Telefónica Tech, and they were so supportive from the start, sponsoring one of the teams.”
Similarly, when Peter Leonard, Head of Service Architecture at Telefónica Tech and a coach at Rosario Football Club, wanted to create a Pan Disability section within the South Belfast club, sponsorship from the company was able to help. In April of last year, Rosario initiated a Pan Disability football section within the club with a six-week pilot season taking place initially. Following the success of this, and with the help of Telefónica Tech, the club has launched a full season and has recently started its second season. The section is now thriving with dozens of enthusiastic players and they also have teams participating in IFA-managed disability leagues.
Rosario Disabled Football club coach Peter Leonard with club members Ciara Gibson (left) and Esme Mc Cann (right).
Through employees’ connections, Telefónica Tech became the first jersey sponsor of Banbridge Cycling Club (BCC) in its 80-year history, linking the club with a global technology brand closely associated with cycling. As part of the sponsorship, Banbridge Cycling Club uses the Telefónica Tech brand this year, featured on the BCC team car, the race-team kits for the men’s and women’s road and mountain bike teams, and the junior race teams.
The company also collaborates with local charities to bridge the gap between education and employment. Over the past two years, Telefónica Tech has partnered with Impact Training and Queen’s University Belfast to deliver a coding academy training programme that provides essential software skills to students aged 16-19, facilitating their entry into the tech sector. This initiative culminates in a graduation ceremony at Telefónica Tech’s Belfast offices each year, where graduates receive Raspberry Pi devices for graduating, a small and affordable computer used to learn programming, which they can use to continue to develop their coding skills.
One of the graduates from Impact Training Justin Clarke with Ellen Dickson, VP of Enterprise Health at Telefónica Tech UK&I.
Inclusivity is also a core focus for Telefónica Tech as they engage with local community groups on an ongoing basis. They recently hosted a “raising aspirations” session for 40 long-term unemployed women, allowing female employees to share insights on mental health and work-life balance. Telefónica Tech also works with a local organisation, Belfast Works Connect, to host employer-led events for those seeking entry-level roles. This allows attendees to gain a deeper understanding of why Telefónica Tech is an employer of choice for those seeking employment, helping them to learn how to successfully apply for tech roles and start their career journey.
Ellen Dickson, VP of Enterprise Health at Telefónica Tech UK&I said, “At Telefónica Tech we are a community and a family. Social responsibility and community engagement are integral to a thriving workplace. A lot of our initiatives are driven by causes that are close to the hearts of our colleagues and it is important that we foster a culture of care and collaboration. Where we can help to support these initiatives in making a difference, we absolutely will and it is incredibly rewarding for us as an organisation, to play even a small part in making a difference to local communities and charities across Northern Ireland.”
Find out more at: https://telefonicatech.uk/about-us/social-responsibility/
Advertorial by Telefónica Tech 
