Foundation BNP Paribas Bulgaria and its partners contribute to fighting hunger in Bulgaria

In line with the BNP Paribas Group’s global corporate philanthropy policy, and with the support of BNP Paribas Foundation in France, Foundation BNP Paribas Bulgaria continues the Soup Kitchen project in Bulgaria. The charitable undertaking has been successfully helping disadvantaged people by providing warm meals during the cold winter months since 2002. The Soup Kitchen Project, initiated by BNP Paribas S.A. - Sofia Branch’s employees and in cooperation with Sofia Municipality, enters into its new season on December 1^st, 2011 and will continue until March 31^st, 2012. During the coming winter, 1,350 disadvantaged citizens of Sofia will benefit from a warm meal. In addition, 3 soup kitchen centers will serve another 400 people in the city of Varna.

The charitable project is financed through donations of BNP Paribas S.A. – Sofia Branch and its employees, the BNP Paribas Foundation and with the valuable support of other partners, such as Moto Pfohe, Avtomotor Corporation, Sofia France Auto, Dimatex, Renault Nissan, International Women’s Club Sofia, Ecopharm, Servier, Deloitte, Air France, Astra Zeneca, French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, St. Cyril & Methodius Foundation, Proxiad. The outstanding commitment of employees, clients and friends of BNP Paribas Bulgaria makes it possible to ensure the noble initiative further and to go on fighting hunger especially now, when the need is bigger than ever.

The Soup Kitchen initiative has proven to be a remarkable success and an indicator for sustainability: the current total number of 1,750 meals per day over the entire winter period is 10 times bigger than at the beginning of the project. Numerous letters show the gratitude of the supported citizens and prove that BNP Paribas, Sofia Municipality and its partners, together took the right direction. The project’s importance was also acknowledged by the Bulgarian business community: in November 2006, the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum awarded the Project Soup Kitchen a first prize in the category “Investor in Community” on the Annual Responsible Business Awards. In June 2009, the project received the BNP Paribas Innov@action award for Corporate Social Responsibility.