According to Ernesta Vareikytė, Head of Media Relations at „Maxima“, the choice of the retail network to focus mainly on children and youth is not accidental. A young person may need support at very different moments in life – both when facing difficulties and when seeking their path and opportunities to reveal their abilities.
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“Children need different things – for one it is important to have someone who listens, for another – encouragement to study, develop talent or not give up on their dream. We cannot know which path a child growing up today will choose, but we can contribute to ensuring they have more opportunities to discover that path. We believe that the responsibility to create a favorable environment for this lies not only with the family or school – business can also contribute,” says E. Vareikytė.
Support whose results are measured over more than one day
„Maxima“ started its partnership with „Vaikų linija“ last year. At the beginning of the cooperation, the retail network contributed to the training of volunteers providing emotional support to children and the dissemination of information about the possibility to seek help. This year, the partnership continues to reflect the same goal – to help strengthen the accessibility of emotional support needed by children and increase its visibility.
According to E. Vareikytė, attention to children and youth is not limited to one area or one organization. Currently, the retail network works with twelve permanent non-governmental organization partners, and some partnerships have lasted for more than a decade. Cooperation is carried out with organizations helping children and youth who are ill, have individual needs, grow up in care homes, or face other difficulties.
Alongside help when facing difficulties, encouragement for a young person to pursue their goals is also important. For this, the „Maxima“ initiative has been running the competition „Lithuanian Maximalists“ for 24 years, where gifted, talented, and socially active students compete for scholarships of 100–200 euros for the entire school year.
“The most important thing is continuity. There are areas where change cannot be created by one initiative or one-time support – it requires time and consistent work. Therefore, we aim to create long-term partnerships with organizations that best understand the needs of children and youth, while continuing initiatives that provide young people with more opportunities to learn, develop, and realize their abilities,” says the Head of Media Relations at „Maxima“.
The generation that will build Lithuania
„Maxima“ associates support for children and youth not only with today’s needs but also with the kind of society that will grow in the future. According to E. Vareikytė, business is inseparable from people and communities, so caring for the growing generation is ultimately important for the whole country.
“We are a business grown in Lithuania, so it is important to us what kind of Lithuania will grow alongside us. Today’s children will be specialists, entrepreneurs, creators in various fields in a few decades, but first and foremost – people who will build the country’s community and decide what it will be like. Therefore, we see contributing to the well-being of children and youth also as a responsibility to the country where we ourselves grew up and operate,” says E. Vareikytė.
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