Some of the most rewarding moments in CSR come when an idea we’ve been working on for months finally becomes something real. This quarter, students in Ceplenița opened a community room they had imagined and planned themselves in the spring. A family near Iași received the keys to a new home, made possible by millions of steps walked by our colleagues last autumn. And 25 young people used AI to build working solutions for a family business in just 24 hours.
As our Journey of Change continued under the theme of Build & Balance, we found ourselves doing both: bringing new ideas to life and staying close to the people, communities and partnerships we’ve committed to supporting.
Here’s what that looked like:
From a winning idea to a community room (COTE Foundation – Yonder Buddy)
Born from our 12-year partnership with COTE Foundation, the Yonder Buddy programme reached its final chapter this quarter. Phase 4 brought the real test for the 13 participants: a 1,020 EUR budget, and the challenge of turning their winning idea into something real. And they didn’t back up. On September 12, “Sala Comunității – Generații Împreună” officially opened its doors in Ceplenița, offering a space where children and seniors can meet, learn and connect.
“I loved the interaction between the children. The older ones, the project participants, were very engaged and took care of the younger children who will benefit from their work. […] I think that’s how they start to see that they can be an example for other children in their community.” – our colleague Carmen Neculea, who attended the inauguration.
The project team already has plans for the room’s next meetings. The space is meant to stay alive well beyond opening day. For us, it was also a fitting conclusion to the first edition of Yonder Buddy. We started by helping students explore their possibilities. We ended by watching them create new possibilities for others.
Leading the AI era (Leaders – The Leadership School)
For the second consecutive year, Yonder joined The Leadership School, a seven-day experiential leadership programme organised by LEADERS Foundation, as sponsor and AI partner. This time, 25 participants were challenged to help Nutts & Eggs, a family-run bakery in Sibiu, extend the experience of its children’s cooking workshops beyond the workshop itself.
Two Yonder colleagues, Alex Dreptate and Ecaterina Oniță, opened the AI Day with a practical crash course on AI tools and their everyday applications. They remained on-site throughout the 24-hour challenge, available whenever participants needed support, while giving them the space to experiment, make decisions and find their own solutions.
By the end of the challenge, the teams had developed two working tools: Nutts & Eggs Home, a digital space bringing together recipes, memories, community features and an AI cooking companion, and an AI-assisted workflow that can turn a workshop into social-media-ready content in under 15 minutes. The first solution was even tested with real users on the spot. While children were baking muffins, their parents were already exploring what the participants had built that day.
Into the second year together (ELS – Equipping Leaders for Success)
Our partnership with ELS continues to bring experiences beyond the classroom to children from Dragu and Gârbău, two rural communities in Cluj County where access to cultural and educational opportunities is limited.
After wrapping up the 2025–2026 school year with educational visits and activities, we began another one together. September brought a visit to TVR Cluj, giving students a chance to discover a world they usually see only through a screen.
With a full calendar of activities planned for the months ahead, there will be plenty more opportunities to explore unfamiliar places, meet new people and imagine possibilities beyond their everyday surroundings.
50 backpacks, 50 children ready for school (Something New)
A new school year also meant making sure children had the essentials they needed to begin it with confidence. Together with Organizația Creștină Something New, we helped equip 50 third- and fourth-grade students from Fizeșu Gherlii with backpacks and school supplies. Forty backpacks were prepared through our colleagues’ involvement, with Yonder covering the remaining ten.
Our contribution was part of a much larger effort: 193 donors and partners came together to provide 400 backpacks for children across seven communities in Cluj and Sălaj.
From 26 miliion steps to a home in Iași (ELS – Homes of Hope)
This story began last year, long before anyone picked up a hammer. During Steps for Hope 2025, 76 colleagues from Cluj and Iași walked more than 26 million steps, turning a walking challenge into funding for a family home. This summer, that effort took physical shape in Rediu Aldei, near Iași.
On August 22, a group of Yonder volunteers joined the Homes of Hope team on-site, assembling and raising the walls of what would become Yonder’s first house built in Iași. By the end of September, the house was complete and had been handed over to its new family.
“What truly defines us is how our colleagues choose to show up for the community, not just by supporting a cause from a distance, but by actively becoming part of it,” shared Alina Iacob, Managing Director at Yonder.
And we’re already taking the next steps, quite literally. Steps for Hope 2026 kicked off in September with 80 colleagues across 20 teams, all walking toward the same goal: helping another family have a safe place to call home.
A different kind of care (Casa Filip)
At Casa Filip, a home away from home for people undergoing cancer treatment, our colleagues have been bringing a different kind of support. Since 2024, Ovidiu, Ioana and Claudiu from our Security team have been leading cybersecurity sessions for Casa Filip’s guests, helping them recognise online fraud, protect personal information and navigate the digital world more confidently.
This quarter marked the tenth and eleventh sessions. Over time, other colleagues have joined the initiative too, discovering for themselves the warmth of the community that Casa Filip has built.
Our support has also grown beyond volunteering. This year, we extended our financial contribution to help renovate the manor that will expand Casa Filip’s capacity, while continuing to support its day-to-day operations. It’s a partnership that has grown gradually, through visits, conversations, and people choosing to return.
Light for the smallest patients (Help Others Help)
Through our partnership with Help Others Help, the winning medical equipment project selected by colleagues during the Fall 2025 edition of Cooking for Charity reached the Emergency Neonatology Unit at the Târgu Mureș County Emergency Clinical Hospital.
The donation includes seven LED phototherapy lamps, each with their own dedicated cart. This equipment is used to treat neonatal jaundice and will replace the unit’s old neon lamps, which have become inefficient. The new lamps are expected to shorten hospital stays for approximately 100–130 newborns every month.
Some of the initiatives we support take time before their impact becomes visible. But they are worth the wait. Many thanks to our colleague, Bianca Toma, for proposing this cause.
From a shared meal to a guide dog (Angel Dog Association)
Angel Dog Association trains guide dogs for people with visual impairments – and at spring’s Cooking for Charity, Yonderists voted to support them. This quarter brought an update worth sharing. The 14,100 RON raised went toward the final stage of training for Onix, who is now ready to accompany Laura when she starts university in Cluj this autumn.
The remaining funds also made it possible for the association to welcome three Labrador puppies: Nala, Kira and Lena. They are now beginning the long journey of socialisation, evaluation and specialised training that could eventually see them become guide dogs themselves.
And there’s a particularly personal connection to this story. Nala is growing up with our colleague Alina Zare, the very person who proposed supporting Angel Dog in the first place. It’s a beautiful example of how a cause can grow beyond the original donation, bringing people closer to the work they chose to support.
From a shared meal to a young woman’s greater independence and three puppies beginning their own journeys toward becoming guide dogs. That’s an outcome worth celebrating.
Looking back
This quarter, Build & Balance took on a meaning of its own.
We saw ideas become places people can gather, steps become a home, and donations become equipment and opportunities that can change lives. At the same time, we continued showing up for the partnerships and communities we’ve been part of for years.
Because building something new matters. And so does staying involved long enough to see it grow.
More to come. Stay close.
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