In early April, VENDEN, a Latvian manufacturer of spring and natural mineral water, held the final event of its charity campaign, during which Ronald McDonald House Charities Latvia (RMHC Latvija) received a donation check for EUR 15,000 to supplement the technical equipment of the Mobile Children’s Health Centre with ophthalmological examination equipment.
This is the third year in a row that VENDEN has been implementing charity campaigns to help Latvian children grow up healthy and happy. This year, the campaign ran for two months – from February 1 to March 31. During this period, VENDEN donated one cent from every PET bottle sold to RMHC Latvija.
Every week, RMHC Latvija, in collaboration with doctors from various specialties, conducts mobile visits, providing free consultations to children at its Mobile Health Centre across the country. Over the course of a year, at least 5,000 medical consultations are provided to more than 4,000 children. Thus, over the 16 years of operation since 2010, RMHC Latvija, together with its team of doctors, has provided nearly 64,000 free consultations in Latvia’s regions. Funds raised through this charity campaign will help ensure children have access to medical care closer to home, including in remote regions of Latvia where screenings in Riga or other major cities are unavailable.
The closing event of the charity campaign was attended by Aldis Skutans, Executive Director of VENDEN, company employees, Guna Caune, Executive Director of RMHC Latvija, and Diana Niedra, Administrator of the Mobile Health Centre.
VENDEN expresses its gratitude to everyone who chose products in PET bottles during the campaign, as well as to its partners for their informational support. Aldis Škutāns, CEO of VENDEN, notes: “Healthy and happy children are the foundation of society’s future, therefore, caring for children has always been one of our company’s priorities. We are pleased to be able to contribute to the health of Latvian children by supporting the RMHC Latvija’s Mobile Health Centre, which provides medical consultations closer to children’s homes. We thank everyone who supported this initiative with their choice, and we encourage other companies to also participate in this charity, contributing to positive social change.”
When receiving the check, Guna Caune, CEO of RMHC Latvija, emphasized: “There are still children in Latvia for whom high-quality vision screenings remain difficult to access, especially outside of major cities. Two-thirds of the Mobile Health Centre’s patients are children from socially vulnerable families, who often have limited access to various preventive examinations. VENDEN’s support will improve the technical capabilities of the Mobile Health Centre, providing portable equipment for faster, more child-friendly, and more accurate screenings. This will expand our ability to provide timely and necessary care to children throughout Latvia. We highly appreciate it!”
VENDEN launched its initiative to support Latvian children’s health in 2024 in collaboration with the Children’s Hospital Foundation to help provide the Children’s Clinical University Hospital (CCUH) with essential equipment. In the first year, funds raised were used to purchase five special waterbeds for the neonatal care unit. Last year, with VENDEN’s support, CCUH purchased specialized equipment for otoacoustic emission needed for hearing diagnostics, as well as two breast pumps with accessories.
