Leroy Merlin announces a partnership with Anci, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, to support local communities during the Covid-19 emergency through the activation and strengthening of two projects: the “SOS Fai da Noi” doorman and the strengthening of the social business project La Casa Ideale (The Ideal Home).
The widespread social caretaking project “SOS Fai da Noi” provides 1,000 repairs and micro maintenance in some of the areas most affected by the Coronavirus epidemic, such as the provinces of Milan, Bergamo, Brescia, Monza-Brianza, Venice, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Bari, Naples and Palermo. The service is carried out with the collaboration of the Social Services of the Municipalities that will collect the reports. The interventions are offered free of charge to the elderly, people with disabilities and families in difficult situations who need help to deal with small domestic emergencies.
Leroy Merlin’s commitment to local communities is also strengthened with the social business project based on the model of the Nobel Peace Prize M. Yunus “The ideal home”: by giving up its earnings, the company allows third party associations partner sector of the Municipalities involved in the Covid-19 emergency to purchase basic necessities at reduced prices, to be used for initiatives to support people and the territory. In particular, housing renovation projects are already underway for the healthcare personnel who have arrived in recent weeks to support the hospital structures most affected by the emergency. A gesture that represents our way of thanking the doctors and nurses involved in the fight against Covid-19.
The basis of the project is the belief that united we are stronger, but above all more useful. Utility has always been central to Leroy Merlin’s approach to business, who has chosen to show his full solidarity and closeness to the inhabitants of the territories most affected by the emergency. The maintenance operations will be carried out, in compliance with all the safety provisions to protect health, thanks to the collaboration of “Il Marito in Noleggio”, the community of DIY experts present throughout Italy, already a consolidated partner for solidarity initiatives, and professional craftsmen who, in this period of stop of their activities, will be hired and remunerated by Leroy Merlin Italy.
Leroy Merlin has always believed in a model of “doing business” linked to local communities, with the aim of transforming solidarity actions into a fair-sustainable benefit for the entire territory. In this perspective of reciprocity, the stores represent a real safeguard for attention, listening and understanding people’s needs.
For further information: CSR Leroy Merlin
La Casa Ideale was an innovative initiative in the traditional CSR scenary. The project allowed to support the Third Sector to enforce an inclusive development of the society without causing economic losses. With the project “La casa ideale” there has been a change in the CSR perspective: from the donation logic to the social business logic, creating win-win scenarios for all the stakeholders.
The project has been implemented by Leroy Merlin Italia with the help of Yunus Social Business University of Florence and Fondazione Accenture Italia.
