Safran committed to education with no boundaries
From France to India and the United States, from pupils in elementary school to young people in deprived areas, and especially girls, Safran is pursuing philanthropic projects to promote education for various categories of people just about everywhere in the world. Here’s a brief overview of these varied and complementary initiatives.
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Spotlight on the United States with Give & Grow
Created by Safran Cabin employees in 2007, the nonprofit Give & Grow aims to improve the lives of children in schools in disadvantaged communities through three levers:
Create. These intense projects typically involve work to renovate elementary schools. Schools are selected wherever Safran has operations, such as in Montreal, Washington and California.
Educate. Volunteers tutor in-need students and offer extracurricular activities such as museum trips.
Donate. Every year, Give & Grow offers around 20 scholarships for students who want to go to university after high school.
Nathan Kwok
Our school renovations are an excellent way for colleagues to get involved in their local community, develop new leadership skills and apply their engineering and production expertise in a new environment.
Nathan Kwok, VP Sales & Marketing for Safran Cabin and more recently Give & Grow’s President, explains: “Our plants employ hundreds of people. For us, Give & Grow is a simple and effective way to engage and give back to the local community.”
Safran Cabin’s footprint in this project is extensive. Actions are conducted in the areas around Safran’s facilities in California, Washington and Montreal. The schools renovated by Give & Grow are often attended by children with some sort of link to a Safran Cabin employee, and the students given tutoring or a scholarship often have a connection with an employee.
The many positive impacts of Give & Grow go further, as Nathan Kwok explains: “Our school renovation projects are an excellent way for colleagues to get involved in their local community, develop new leadership skills and apply their expertise in engineering and production in a new environment.”
In France, Proxité mentoring deliver results
Just a 10-minute walk from the Safran Aircraft Engines site in Gennevilliers is Proxité, a nonprofit organization set up in 2002 to help children struggling at school improve their academic outcomes and enter the world of work through one-on-one mentoring. Each child is matched with a volunteer working in industry. Once paired up, they meet weekly and the mentor provides personalized academic help and support with both learning content and methods. The aim is to help the mentee make progress and boost their self-confidence.
Proxité provides the necessary support and training for volunteers, as Romain Noselli explains. Romain is a mechanical engineer at the R&T design office and a volunteer for the last three years. He says: “The mentoring arrangements set up by Proxité are well managed and supervised. Mentors receive training, so they fully understand expectations and are familiar with the various tools used in the sessions with mentees.”
Thanks to the mentoring, my grades have improved. What’s more, I get on really well with my mentor and I can talk to her about anything!
In 2021, 83% of Proxité mentees found the training, work-study placements or jobs they wanted, thanks to this mentoring arrangement. And 82% achieved better academic outcomes, like Walid, a mentee since October 2021: “Thanks to the mentoring, my grades have improved. What’s more, I get on really well with my mentor and I can talk to her about anything!”
In India, Safran supports female engineering students
As part of celebrations of 20 years of Safran Engineering Services India in December 2022, the entity signed a partnership agreement with Lila Poonawalla Foundation in the presence of Cécile Dubrovin, President of Safran Engineering Services, and Priti Khare, CEO of the Foundation.
Lila Poonawalla Foundation (LPF) supports LILA Girls, young female engineering students, and offers scholarships and skills building in Bangalore. In its 27 years, LPF has helped more than 12,000 girls enter the world of work!
