TomTom 2015 Annual Report Download - page 41

MANAGEMENT BOARD REPORT
TOMTOM / ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2015 / 40
CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
COMMUNITY GIVING
At TomTom we are committed to having a strong, positive social
impact. In 2015, we continued to focus our CSR activities on
supporting causes across the world through financial
contributions, donations of TomTom products & services, and by
getting kids active through our 'Be Active' programme. Taking an
active role and giving back to our local communities has always
been an important part of our working culture. In 2015, we
launched Be Active, a new CSR programme where we partnered
with local charities that are focused on getting kids fit and active.
This effort was carried out after research showed that on average,
74% of kids today do not get the recommended 60 minutes of
daily exercise. This is a troubling statistic given that our research
highlighted that 98% of parents believe active lifestyles at an
early age is important for their children’s physical and mental
development. As a result, this year we launched Be Active in three
key markets: the Netherlands, the UK and the United States.
These markets were identified as they are key markets for
TomTom where we have a large market presence and therefore
can make the most impact.
In the UK, we partnered with 'Kids Run Free' a charity that
creates opportunities for children to run relay races in and out of
school. TomTom supported them with funding for 10 races and
provided our GPS watches and coaching for the young runners.
In the Netherlands, we partnered with the 'Richard Krajicek
Foundation'. This organisation was founded by Dutch
Wimbledon Champion Richard Krajicek and gives
underprivileged youth the opportunity to participate in sports.
The programme supports these kids by building playgrounds,
organising sport activities and even providing academic
scholarships to those who continue to mentor other kids in the
programme. Our employees have hosted a number of
fundraisers throughout the year to directly support these efforts.
In the United States, we sponsored the American 'Heart
Association’s Hoops for Heart Campaign'. Their mission is to
teach kids how to stay healthy and make a difference in the lives
of others, whilst having fun. In 2015, we were involved in 'Hoops
for Heart’s' events at North Attleboro Middle School in
Massachusetts and at Excel Academy of East Boston,
Massachusetts. Students from North Attleboro raised an
amazing $108,000 this year for the American Heart Association.
In addition, we sponsored local initiatives in Amsterdam such as
Girls Day, Amsterdam City Swim, EU Code Week, the Dam tot
Dam Loop and World Solar Challenge.
In April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, killing
over 8,500 people, leaving thousands injured and badly
damaging roads and infrastructure. To support the rescue efforts,
we partnered with Digital Globe and Open StreetMap to
combine our mapping technology and re-map devastated areas
of the country. Together we were able to revise 30,000 road edges
and our overall contributions resulted in 321,726 map updates.
The updates allowed various agencies such as USAID, the Red
Cross, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Nepal army to carry
out relief efforts throughout Nepal.
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
Our aim for 2016 is to continue to expand our Be
Active programme and continue encouraging our
employees to get involved in local initiatives and
community giving.