Lending a hand: Kindness and social responsibility across our entities

As a global company, we always want to give something back to the communities we operate in. One of Delivery Hero’s values is: We are Heroes because we care. Operating in around 50 countries, this shared value is a pillar in uniting a global team. As part of our Local Heroes Stories, we want to take this opportunity to emphasize local initiatives taken across the company. For this edition, we are looking at a meal donation program from HungerStation in Saudi Arabia, a charity fundraiser from talabat in Dubai, and a beach cleaning campaign from foodpanda Hong Kong.

A humanitarian crisis: talabat for Palestine

The humanitarian crisis that Palestine currently faces has been steadily escalating and has reached a breaking point. Talabat wanted to take the opportunity to stand up for humanitarian relief and make a genuine contribution.

With a focus on providing aid and alleviating human suffering, on May 27th, 2021 talabat donated 100% of their profit to Palestine. Overall $530,315 worth of immediate relief efforts were donated.
As a region-wide initiative, vendors encouraged customers to participate, and many riders requested their earnings to be donated as well. This was aided by restaurants ordering meals from one another for their staff to further boost the cause. The donation will be made through the World Food Programme, which focuses on distributing food to those in need. 

As a result of the campaign, there was a massive reaction over social media, which then encouraged a number of other brands to mirror the initiative which prolonged the impact.

Cleaning the beach: a foodpanda Hong Kong volunteer day

The foodpanda Hong Kong team runs CSR & Sustainability related events for their office once or twice every quarter. This May they decided to do a beach clean-up event to raise awareness about the ocean plastics crisis happening globally and to make a small but positive impact on the problem.

The initiative was launched by Woody Chen, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) & Sustainability Manager of foodpanda Hong Kong in collaboration with the local NGO Plastic Free Seas, as a way to show their solidarity with the local area. Around 30 people from the office joined for a day of cleaning and a learning session facilitated by Plastic Free Seas.

In total after two hours of cleaning up, the team had collected 309kg of waste, roughly 44 bags, plus another 400kg more of loose materials such as ropes, nets, containers, polystyrene, and pressed wood. Additionally, 25kg of plastic beverage bottles were sent to be recycled.

Ramadan meal donations: HungerStation

This year to celebrate the month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia’s HungerStation teamed up with the Community Food Bank (Etaam) to deliver meals to those in need. Using the HungerStation app, it was possible for customers to select the option “Order for them” which would allow Etaam to receive the ordered food, and subsequently donate the meals to families in need for their Iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset. For every meal ordered, HungerStation donated one riyal on top. Overall 2,600,000 riyals worth of meals were donated including food baskets. 

This isn’t the first time HungerStation has participated in this initiative. Starting in 2017, every year HungerStation teams up with a local charity to provide meals to the less fortunate. 

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are encouraged to donate to the needy, and the use of modern technology has greatly contributed to the efficiency and reach of such charitable programs.

Offering a helping hand

Delivery Hero has the unique position of being locally rooted but also globally present, and local initiatives such as these are a core part of keeping the company united under shared values. In times of worldwide hardship, being community-oriented is a shared belief that unifies us and draws a common thread throughout the entire Delivery Hero ecosystem. At Delivery Hero we always want to be part of the solution and creating a positive impact for our community is a cornerstone of making this happen.
If you would like to read more about our local initiatives check out our past local hero stories (Read: Caring and creating opportunities: A spotlight on our local communities)