As part of the B-Value social innovation programme, which we are supporting with Ship2B, we have organised a number of different events under the name ‘En tus zapatos’, (‘In your shoes’), an initiative aimed at professionals who act as mentors during the programme, including employees from Banco Sabadell in Madrid and Barcelona.

During these events, participants get to learn about the third sector and know more about the reality of social entities, in order to optimise the role of mentors during the programme. ‘En tus zapatos’ (‘In your shoes’) combines training and theory sessions and an introduction to social innovation with visits to social projects that offer mentoring workshops which take place with the B-Value entities. It also offers a unique opportunity to form part of the advisory board of one of the finalists.

The employees who took part in this first event, who came from both Madrid and Barcelona, spoke very highly of this opportunity to learn more about the third sector. One of them, Gonzalo Ortiz, director of Organisation at the Catalonia regional office of Banco Sabadell, assured us that “a long time ago I felt the need to help others outside my day-to-day activities, and thanks to this initiative pursued by the Foundation and the Bank, that is now possible”.

Another aim of the initiative is to allow the bank’s employees to become involved and do their part for society, something which was also highlighted by Raquel Ortega, a Recruitment specialist at Banco Sabadell, who valued the way in which “the Foundation supports the third sector with programmes such as these. The fact that they count on us, on the Bank’s employees, is very enriching both professionally and personally. It is important to have these types of initiatives, as they are incredibly rewarding”.

To launch this year’s third edition, we also held an inspirational chat, ‘La vida está al otro lado del miedo’ (‘Life is on the other side of fear’), by Miguel Ángel Tobías, who works to raise awareness and increase the visibility of those most in need and provide them with the necessary support. This chat helped the bank’s employees to reflect on, and become more aware of, the third sector.