Toomas Luman, chairman of the supervisory board of the construction group Nordecon International AS, is a firm believer in charity work and says there must be a point to it. However, he also says that the problem in Estonia is that no one talks about it.
"There really isn’t a lot of charity in Estonia," he said. "Then again, we tend to forget that in order to give something, there has to be something to give. And no business operator is going to put in more than you yourself do; that’s something you have to bear in mind as well."
Luman says that close to 50 million kroons has found its way to charity in recent years via projects he has launched and the donations he has made.
"In our group the charity we focus on is more about kids, since they’re out future," he explained. "We’ve been sponsoring Nõmme Special School for 20 years. In the last decade we’ve donated 11.5 million kroons to it. I don’t recall exactly how much support we gave it in the first 10 years we sponsored it, but it was definitely in the millions, too."
Luman added that over the last decade Nordecon has also been supporting Tallinn Technical University – the teaching laboratory in its Faculty of Construction having been fitted out with all new equipment and resources. Nordecon also issues annual grants to students in Bachelor’s and Doctoral studies at the university. "To date we’ve issued 16 million kroons in student grants," he said, "and 1.7 million this year alone."
An alumni fund has also been established at the university, which is currently valued at 2.7 million kroons. Any and all alumni of Tallinn Technical University can join the fund by donating 50,000 kroons to it.
Luman says that business operators have constructed computer classrooms through the Foundation for the Promotion of National Defence on all defence forces premises in Estonia – eight in total. A competition entitled ‘Officer of the Year’ has also been launched, with a 50,000 kroon cash prize in recognition of the commissioned and non-commissioned officers voted most outstanding in each year. "As things stand," Luman explains, "that prize is more highly valued among the officers than any medal they might be awarded by the state."
Being held in Tallinn today, 3 December 2010, is the Annual Charity Conference 2010, led by the Tallinn Children’s Hospital Foundation. During the conference discussions will be held about the role of charity in society. Speaking at the conference will be Evelin Ilves, Laine Jänes, Priidu Pärna, Margus Saar, Tiia Tulviste, Toomas Paul, Toomas Luman and David Vseviov.
Source: delfi.ee, 3.12.2010
