With support from the ORLEN Unipetrol Group, the municipality of Veltrusy has completed the construction of a new children’s playground and road safety training area in the park at Jiráskova Street. The proposal for their implementation won the ORLEN Unipetrol to the People campaign in 2022. ORLEN Unipetrol contributed CZK 1 million to the project the locals chose in a poll with almost 64% of the votes. The ORLEN Unipetrol to the People project is one of the Group’s charity activities seeking to develop good relations with local communities based on bilateral communication and cooperation. The municipality will receive an additional CZK 1 million from the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation to purchase playground and workout equipment and complete the park space where leisure time can be spent actively.
“We are delighted to have contributed to creating a safe, high-quality space for the development and happiness of children in Veltrusy. This children’s playground is a great example of our long-term support and engagement in locations where our Group is present,” says Lucie Pražáková, director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation, adding: “We are already looking forward to our continued cooperation. The Foundation agreed with the municipality to contribute another CZK 1 million to improve the quality of life in the region. With this additional funding, we will help complete the children’s playground and workout area and build another playground in the nearby Družstevní Street.”
In a poll organised within the ORLEN Unipetrol to the People campaign, the residents of Veltrusy cast a total of 522 votes. The new children’s playground and road safety training area received a clear majority. The winning project got 333 votes, almost 64% of the total number cast. Other projects the residents could choose from in the poll were revitalising the public space in Družstevní Street with workout equipment (62 votes) and exterior adaptations around the new community centre, including seating under a linden tree (127 votes).
“The opening of the new children’s playground and road safety training area in the park behind at Jiráskova Street is not only a place for children to enjoy themselves but is also an example of how we are fulfilling our long-term commitment to increasing the quality of life in Veltrusy. In collaboration with an urban planner, we approved the construction of the new playground in a complex manner: a packed gravel path to mark the boundaries of mounds with planted ornamental greenery and new street furniture, including bins for sorted waste and bicycle stands, were added. I want to take this opportunity to thank ORLEN Unipetrol and the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation for their support in implementing this project and for their helpful attitude towards our proposal for cooperation on another project to add additional workout equipment in Družstevní Street,” says Filip Volák, mayor of Veltrusy.
The origins of the ORLEN Unipetrol to the People campaign date back to the autumn of 2019, when the initiative was launched to improve the life of local communities in the vicinity of the Litvínov production plant. The chance to vote on projects the inhabitants of Litvínov and Most wanted to implement the most in their towns immediately evoked great interest in the locals. The ORLEN Unipetrol to the People initiative subsequently spread to other locations where the Group was present: Kralupy nad Vltavou, where the Group has one of its two refineries, Veltrusy, and through the Spolana to the People campaign to Neratovice where the Group is present with the Spolana production plant. The ORLEN Unipetrol to the People campaign is part of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s long-term efforts to support local communities, towns and villages near its production plants. Thanks to the ORLEN Unipetrol to the people project, the inhabitants of Kralupy nad Vltavou can now use a workout playground or the surroundings of the Pilařský Pond in Litvínov have been revitalised.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the key players on the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs over 6,000 people. ORLEN Unipetrol is also a socially responsible company, particularly in the areas of supporting sustainable development, education, local communities and the environment. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the ORLEN Group, the largest oil refiner in Central Europe.