Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate Responsibility? Sustainability?

Call it whatever you like, but to Miniclip it's more than just a buzz word or an attempt at looking good. We are committed to not just our online fans but also the wider social community. We actively encourage our offices and employees to examine how they can make a difference and, whilst we've still got a long way to go, we're very proud of what's been done so far! Alongside recycling and energy-saving efforts in the office, Miniclip supports charitable organisations across the globe through two main initiatives.

Employee Volunteering - "Miniclip Gives"

We recognise the needs of charities to have talented and trustworthy volunteers to assist them in their outstanding work.  Miniclip also recognises the benefits that it gains as an employer by encouraging its staff to volunteer; more motivated employees, community focused individuals and often personnel being more respectful to each other. As such, we encourage staff to find their own opportunities to volunteer and immediately support this by giving everyone an additional paid day's leave each year for voluntary work. We call this "Miniclip Gives".

Although still in its early days, examples include:

We're looking forward to many more examples like these over the next few months and years!

Charity Affiliations

Volunteering doesn't suit everyone so in order to maximise how we can help charities, each of our offices is affiliated to a local charity. The office is able to develop a close bond with their selected charity before organising fundraising events. Not only does this raise essential funds for these charities but it brings our employees together as a team, to work towards helping those less privileged than ourselves or those afflicted with illlness. Miniclip tries to work with charities that have some synergy with us as a company, and often this means ones that improve the lives of young people in some way.

Below are some of the charities that we work with:

Neuchâtel - "L'enfant c’est la vie"

From January 2012, our Swiss Headquarters is supporting the local charity "l'enfant c'est la vie".

This charity is responsible for two local children's homes open 365 days a year, and which take in children and teenagers from disadvantaged families in difficulty or crisis. The home offers boarding and semi-boarding opportunities, day school, and external support. An education team assists children and teenagers in all aspects of everyday life, leads activities in a variety of areas, and provides support for homework. It also offers a child psychiatrist, two psychologists and a speech therapist.

London – "Teenage Cancer Trust"

Our UK team has supported Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) since 2007. TCT are a charity devoted to improving the lives of teenagers and young adults with cancer, whether that be through the building of specialist cancer units to treat that age group or through the wider international education of how cancer affects younger people. The London office has supported TCT through numerous fundraising activities, ranging from the provision of free online advertising to a very tasty cake bake sale!

The most physical event to date was the 'Three Peaks Challenge' in August 2010, where ten UK employees raised over £6,500 by trying to climb the UK’s three highest mountains (one in England, one in Scotland and one in Wales!) within 24 hours. In addition, Miniclip launched a bespoke game for the charity on Miniclip.com following brainstorming and story board exercises with three former cancer patients who had received treatment on TCT units.  The end result was a relevant yet fun game called ‘Funky Nurse’.  By the end of 2011, Miniclip UK had raised over £15,000 for TCT. Click here for more information on Teenage Cancer Trust.

Tallinn – "Laste ja Noorte Kriisiprogramm"

The "Crisis Program for Children and Youth" supports young people who are bereaved and at risk of conflict with their family, school and friends. It offers a one week camp during the summer holidays which provides the young people with space to express their grief in a safe and trusting environment. It does this through relaxation, creative play and fun, and support groups, helping them to work through their loss with their peers. Although our Estonian office has only recently teamed up with Crisis Program, they have already raised hundreds of Euros in fundraising activities and are currently helping the charity to design and create a brand new company website using our team's expertise.

Lisbon – "Refúgio Aboim Ascensão"

Our newest office out in Portugal have recently teamed up with "Refúgio Aboim Ascensão".  This is a charity that works towards improving the lives of children under the age of six who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. It provides specially designed therapy, education and professional care. The rehabilitation program gives the children a safe and happy environment whilst giving them the confidence and self-esteem to continue their lives.  The Lisbon team have a wide array of fundraising activities planned for 2012! Click here for more information.

Miami - "Jack & Jill Children’s Center"

Our technical gurus in Florida have been supporting "Jack & Jill Children’s Center" since 2011.  The center was founded in 1942 by the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale and it aims to break the cycle of poverty for children of lower income working families. It offers family-oriented child care services, family intervention and support and has provided more than 13,000 children with one million hours of child care to date.  In 2011 our Miami team supported the charity with food baskets during Thanksgiving as well as monetary donations. Once again this office is excited about fundraising for such a worthwhile charity throughout 2012.  Click here for more information.