The second quarter of 2026, shaped by the theme of Collaboration & Progress, confirmed what we already know about the Journey of Change: it’s not something that happens to us but through us. Through mentors who choose to show up for students in a village. Through colleagues who pick up a hammer, a cooking pot or a pair of running shoes for someone else. Through partnerships, like the one with our sister-company, Sobis AP, where doing good together feels like the natural next step.

Here’s how we moved forward:

Education that reaches further

Growing together: Yonder Buddy (COTE Foundation)

For 11 years, we’ve sponsored COTE Foundation’s ‘Together for Education’ program in Ceplenița, a small village in Iași county, covering scholarships, remedial classes, psycho-educational workshops on confidence and emotional skills and summer camps. Since last year, the partnership grew further with Yonder Buddy, bringing our own colleagues in as direct mentors for the first time, volunteering their time to teach and guide these students.

The programme unfolded in phases: last autumn, we explored career paths together; this spring, nine Yonder volunteers delivered workshops on critical thinking, decision-making, time management, digital skills and public speaking. In the second quarter of 2026, Phase 3 brought the most meaningful challenge yet: the students formed teams to tackle one simple but powerful question – “What change can you make in your community?” Guided by their Yonder mentor, they researched local needs, designed solutions, built implementation plans and presented their ideas to a jury. The winning project, “Together Across Generations”, envisions a community room in Ceplenița where children and seniors can learn, play and connect. Phase 4 is now underway, with a 1,020 EUR budget and a community inauguration event ahead. We can’t wait to see the idea come to life.

Learning beyond the classroom (ELS – Echiparea Liderilor pentru Succes)

Asociatia ELS works to give children from rural communities access to experiences and opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. Through their programme in Dragu and Gârbău, two Cluj county villages, Yonder has been part of that effort for several years now. It was through the literary competitions designed to encourage children to read more that we first got to know these communities, and we were glad to see them happening again this quarter. Over the past months, the programme closed its academic year with museum visits, a shared excursion to Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, award ceremonies, and a donation of office chairs. Moments that, for many of these students, were a first. And that kind of first tends to stay.

Supporting champions in the making

Romanian robotics teams on international stages

This quarter we began supporting MechaByte, the robotics team of Paradis International College in Iași. They went on to have a great run at the FTC European Premier Event: an Innovate Award (2nd place) for engineering excellence and creativity, and a second-place finish at the European Championship, an all-Romanian Grand Final, alongside CyLiis.
We also backed LORIS Robotics on their journey to the VEX World Championship in St. Louis in April, another team from Iași taking their engineering skills to an international stage.

Chess that opens doors (Rotary Iași Copou Chess Tournament)

Now in its third year of Yonder support, the sixth edition of the Rotary Iași Copou Chess Tournament brought 190 young chess players together at Palas Iași on June 13. One hundred of them came from rural communities with limited resources and participated free of charge. Passion for chess shouldn’t depend on means. Across six editions, this partnership has reached 982 young players, distributed over 50,000 RON in prizes, and built a scholarship fund of over 180,000 RON for talented children from rural areas.

Showing up: hands and legs, hearts and homes

A home of hope (in partnership with Sobis AP)

For the past few years we’ve been supporting the Homes of Hope project, helping families in need have a place they can call home. One house was already part of this year’s plan, funded through our Steps for Hope initiative. But when we started talking about this project with our colleagues at Sobis (the second Romanian company in the Total Specific Solutions Group), building another one together felt like the natural next step.

We co-funded a new home in Ighiș (Sibiu County) and a group of Yonder colleagues spent a day on site, helping bring the walls up. For Andrei, Roxana and their four children, this means something simple, yet life-changing: a safe home where they no longer have to worry about rain coming through the roof or cold nights. One house is now home. Another one will soon be in Iași.

More than a Family Day (Fundația Pas cu Pas)

Fundația Pas cu Pas supports children and young people growing up in the social protection system. Over the past months, we contributed to equipping an Arts & Crafts Atelier at the foundation, a creative space where children can build confidence, learn practical skills and simply have a place to make things. To celebrate this, we invited Yonder parents and their families to spend a special Family Day here.

We officially inaugurated the atelier and got to learn more about the foundation’s work and the impact this space will have. The rest of the day unfolded exactly as we’d hoped: creating, building, planting, learning, and simply enjoying time together. Parents and children explored six activity stations, decorated flowerpots, baked bread, worked on outdoor projects, and made the most of everything the location had to offer, from animals and bikes to hammocks, a zipline, and plenty of green space. A Family Day with purpose, and one that left something lasting behind.

Cooking for Charity, Spring edition

Cooking for Charity is one of those events we simply can’t stop doing. This year marks the 11th year it’s been happening, and it still brings people together in the same way: colleagues volunteer their time to cook for others, conversations happen, causes are proposed, votes are cast, and everyone plays a part in the outcome.

The Spring edition brought a new twist: a new category for causes where Yonderists volunteer actively, recognising not only the organisations we believe in, but also the people who invest their time in them. 1,800 EUR was raised during the event, tripled by Yonder to over 5,400 EUR. Following the vote, this money will support two causes: providing essential supplies and comfort for children spending long periods in hospital, and training future guide dogs that offer independence and freedom to people with visual impairments.

Running for a good cause: Iași Half Marathon, 10th edition

The Iași Half Marathon reached its 10th edition this year, and the #YonderRunners were right there on April 26, running in support of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. A cause close to the heart and a milestone edition worth being part of.

Health, sustainability & on-going care

Equipment that saves lives (Help Others Help)

Help Others Help connects companies with the real medical equipment needs of public hospitals in Romania. Our involvement started in 2021 and grew when we opened it up to colleagues, asking them to propose hospitals and causes in need of equipment through an internal call. Part of the funding comes from our Cooking for Charity events, with the rest supported by the company.

This quarter, equipment proposed by our colleagues during the first call reached Spitalul Clinic de Urgență pentru Copii Cluj-Napoca:
• Pediatrics 3 – a portable ultrasound for vein identification and for children with limited mobility
• Pediatrics 2 – four infusion pumps for safe and efficient treatment administration

And we’re not stopping here: following the latest internal call, three new initiatives are now moving forward in Târgu Mureș, Iași, and Cluj-Napoca.

Afterwork, but with gardening and homemade food (Clujul Sustenabil)

On May 15, a group of Yonderists traded their usual Friday routine for an evening at Blue Gardens, an ecological urban garden just above Cluj. Alongside the Clujul Sustenabil team, in a single evening we planted 284 seedlings, trimmed 290 chive bushes, harvested peas, and put tomatoes, zucchini and physalis into the ground, saving the Blue Gardens team nearly 8 hours of manual work.

We also got to witness a magnificent sunset over Cluj, share good food around one long table, and meet some very friendly horses and donkeys asking for attention. This initiative was possible thanks to our partner Clujul Sustenabil, whom we support because they turn sustainability into action, including a current project pushing for sustainable food in public procurement for nurseries and kindergartens across Cluj. That evening was our way of showing up for it: not just with funding, but with our hands.

Beyond the firewall (Casa Filip)

Casa Filip is a shelter and second home for people living with cancer. The cybersecurity sessions we run there are led by Ovidiu, Ioana and Claudiu (Yonder’s security team) – they are the heart of this initiative and have been from the very beginning. Over time, other colleagues have joined in too. And once you’ve been there, something shifts: you see the impact, you feel it, but you can’t quite put it into words. So you make another colleague curious.

Casa Filip heals not through magic, but through the community that exists within it. We are honoured to be part of that.

ESG Program of the year

Along the way, Yonder was recognised with the ESG Program of the Year award at the 2026 ANIS Gala, a recognition that belongs to every Yonderist, NGO partner, volunteer and community member who helped build this.

What makes this prize especially important for us is that Yonder’s ESG journey was never created to “tick a box”. It grew organically from our culture, our people, and long-term partnerships built over time, through colleagues who chose to get involved, volunteer, propose causes, mentor, build, donate, teach, and show up for communities around us, while staying increasingly mindful of environmental responsibility and long-term impact.

Looking ahead

This quarter reminded us that change doesn’t happen alone. It happens when people choose to build it together. As we head into the other half of the year, the momentum carries: the last phase of Yonder Buddy, a new home being built in Iași, and everything still ahead.

Next up: Build and Balance. More to come. Stay close.