The Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) promoted the Christmas Solidarity Campaign "The Joy of Giving" at its headquarters in Lisbon and at its 3 campi - Porto, Braga and Viseu - involving more than 300 volunteers and benefiting 44 social organisations.
At the headquarters in Lisbon, the collection of food and baby products for Comunidade Vida e Paz, CASA e Apoio à Vida resulted in the collection of 1.716 products. The Banco Alimentar campaign involved 76 volunteers, who totalled 228 hours of service. Corporate volunteering at CASA involved 51 volunteers, including teachers, researchers and employees, who dedicated 229 hours to supporting institutions such as CASA, Apoio à Vida and the Irmãs de S. Vicente de Paulo. Finally, the 3rd edition of the Solidarity Christmas Market brought together 21 social organisations.
In Porto, the Banco Alimentar campaign mobilised 41 volunteers to run three supermarkets, totalling 128 volunteer hours. In addition, food, teaching materials and items of clothing were collected. Various initiatives were also organised, such as the 3rd Bingo D'Eficiência Solidário, which brought together 22 participants, the assembly of the Christmas tree with AAPACDM-Porto users and a Christmas Workshop – Reinvent Christmas – where 35 Christmas items were made from ‘rubbish’ textile material. The Christmas Solidarity Fair was attended by eight partner institutions, and 16 Christmas hampers were also delivered to families supported by Cáritas. Blood donation on campus registered 46 people, resulting in 26 donations.
At the Católica Campus in Braga, the campaign included various activities, including participation in the initiative “Mourning and fighting for women victims of gender violence”, in partnership with the União de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta (UMAR) and the Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima (APAV), which included an exhibition and two workshops, with the involvement of 9 volunteers. On International Volunteer Day, celebrated on 5 December, the community took part in the “Volunteering in action: at the service of our common home” campaign, which included planting trees in partnership with Braga City Council and the "Forest Braga 2024" project, with the presence of 50 volunteers. There was also a workshop on volunteering, organised by Synergia, a ceremony to recognise institutions and volunteers, and the “Ideas Laboratory”, involving 70 students. The "Christmas is for Everyone: The Joy of Giving" campaign included collecting donations for Vida Norte and delivering around 200 meals to homeless people, in partnership with the Virar a Página association.
At the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Viseu, the campaign was marked by the collection of food, clothes, household appliances and batteries, as well as collaboration with Refood Viseu in the delivery of food.
For Rita Paiva e Pona, Advisor to the Rector and Coordinator of Católica's Social Responsibility Office, "the academic community's strong support for the various initiatives promoted as part of the Christmas Solidarity Campaign, as well as the various testimonies shared, reveal the Catholic community's commitment to solidarity. The active participation of students, teachers and staff demonstrates that true joy lies in the act of giving and that when we give, we also receive!".
The Christmas Solidarity Campaign "The Joy of Giving" reinforces the role of the Universidade Católica as an agent of social change, promoting solidarity and volunteering as fundamental values for building a more just and humane society.
