Yardi is committed to supporting the community in every city where our offices are housed. Each year, the company distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees.
In Cluj-Napoca, Romania, one of the NGOs Yardi supports is Beard Brothers, founded in 2013. Beard Brothers are an unconventional NGO, a brotherhood of bearded men who want to change mentalities through active social involvement. The group decries social stereotypes and discrimination of any kind.
“We started changing mentalities in 2013, and nine years later, we have 12 primary campaigns finished, over 50 auxiliary ones, 201 events made, 432 active colleagues and the drive needed to continue what we started,” shares Stet Lucian, president of Beard Brothers.
Ambitious approach
Beard Brothers are involved in many fields: volunteering, forestation actions, health care campaigns, education and mentoring. The healthcare campaign includes the Social Ambulance for transporting patients with disabilities, free of charge. Yardi Romania supports the operation of one of the two Beard Mobile vans. Costs to operate the van are approximately $15,000 per year.
Funds from Yardi keep Beard Brothers’ services up and running. Without the support of Yardi, they would not be able to develop and improve their campaigns.
“We are constantly working to maintain and exceed expectations,” shares Lucian.
“In the nine years of operation, we have had 12 extensive campaigns finished, all important and meaningful for the society around us. The most impactful would be our transport service for patients with disabilities. It was founded in 2015, it’s free of charge and has an average of 3,000 trips per year,” said Lucian.
Not slowing down
In the year ahead, Beard Brothers plan to work on their 13th campaign called BBSchool.
“BBSchool is our most extensive campaign yet,” said Lucian. “It consists of opening a new vocational school from the ground up, where participants can learn necessary skills, like electricians, welders, plumbers, etc.”
The Beard Brothers School is where people will assimilate knowledge necessary for personal and professional development. “We strongly believe we can revive these skills and give them the ‘coolness’ they are missing in the present,” shared Lucian.
