Goal 1. No poverty

Both students and employees of Lodz University of Technology have been actively involved in the Noble Gift campaign over the past few years, which brings together donors and poor families for whom dedicated aid is prepared. 

The students and the staff of the Public Secondary School of Lodz University of Technology also participated in the project Thanks to this initiative, help can reach out to those in need who are too helpless and alone to cope with their situation. Noble Gift also often helps to fulfil the dreams of children from poor families, often socially excluded by the lack of equipment such as a tablet or a computer.

Charity events in which Lodz University of Technology employees take part are undertaken as part of work-life balance, and often have a completely private dimension. An example of such a project is the Parkrun birthday run in Poniatowski Park in Lodz, which was initiated by an employee of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at TUL.

In lieu of the customary gifts, the "birthday girl" asked for stationery and groceries to be collected for the wards of Orphanage No. 13. Over 60 kilos of donations were collected.

Since 2015 Polish Association of Civil Engineers and Technicians - Lodz Chapter has been implementing the Workcamp project every year. Young volunteers from Lodz University of Technology acquire sponsors, tools and materials in order to devote their time during the holidays and renovate the facility which needs such activities the most.

Thanks to the initiative, in previous years wards of four orphanages in Lodz have gained new and better living conditions, the building intended for the Support Centre for Children and Families has been renovated, as well as the dilapidated building of the former secondary school.

Lodz University of Technology employees participate in numerous activities related to helping people in the crisis of homelessness, who are the group most threatened and affected by economic poverty. 

An example of actions for the benefit of these people is the active cooperation of the Office for Persons with Disabilities
of TUL with a streetworker (and, at the same time, an addiction therapist), through whom clothes and hygiene
products are provided to homeless people. 

Individual units of Lodz University of Technology have also joined the "Homeless Box" project, which aims to help people without a home to leave homelessness and to help them with basic needs on their way to life stabilisation. Support goes directly to the person in need and meets their real needs.

The staff of the Office for People with Disabilities at TUL actively participated in workshops organized by day-care centres for children from families who find themselves in difficult financial and living conditions.

Employees of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences held an open-air workshop entitled "Tent of Joyful Science" during the Foster Families Day picnic. A microbiological workshop for children from foster families was also prepared during the event, which took place on the TUL campus.

Over time, these individual events have developed into a series of microbiological workshops and open-air meetings called "Science is fun", co-financed by the TUL Foundation and intended for children from foster families and orphanages.

Members of the Student Research Circle "NANO" conducted scientific demonstrations in orphanages number 13 and 17 in Lodz. Appropriately prepared experiments and scientific anecdotes helped to introduce the children to the world of chemistry.

Thus began the idea of a "Circle for children", which will be implemented in subsequent years by NANO.

Employees of the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics have been organizing the event "St. Nicholas Day". It is an event aimed at helping a family in need who, thanks to the support, have the chance to improve their difficult situation and spend a happy Christmas. 

An online fundraiser is organized to help the selected family and the funds are used, for example, to purchase a laptop for remote learning. Food, cleaning products and school supplies for children are also collected. Every donated product is a significant support to a family in need.

Employees of TUL can benefit from various forms of financial assistance thanks to the Social Benefits Fund. 

In 2020. 2,605 children of the employees of TUL benefited from subsidised selforganised holidays during the winter and summer holidays, 102 employees received monthly benefits - subsidy to pay the fees for children's stay in nurseries and kindergartens.

Nine people benefited from loans for obtaining their first independent flat or for improving their housing conditions.

Loans for the renovation and modernisation of flats, granted on favourable conditions, were in great demand. They were received by 126 people.

Non-repayable financial aid was provided to 280 people. Students and participants of doctoral studies at TUL are also eligible to apply for benefits.

In 2020. 718 students received maintenance grants and 510 students received an increase in their maintenance grant for living in a hall of residence or other accommodation. 891 students were granted the Rector's scholarship, 127 students were granted a scholarship for the disabled and 212 students were granted financial aid.

One of the TUL students actively supports, as a volunteer, the "Soup on Pietryna" campaign in Łódź, from which over 300 people benefit. These are poor and homeless persons. Every week on Sunday at the corner of ul. Skorupki and Piotrkowska, next to the Łódź cathedral, they can get a hot meal, meet other people and talk. Volunteers share with those in need not only food packages, but also a smile, time and a kind word. The initiative is supported by companies from the Łódź region. Sunday lunches are prepared by volunteers. Members of the "Soup on Pietryna" group are also the originators of a mobile bathhouse for the homeless. There, every person affected by homelessness can have a shower and wash their clothes free of charge or, if necessary, get completely new clothes. More information.

Since 2015, the Young Staff Group of the Polish Association of Construction Engineers and Technicians in Łódź has been implementing the Workcamp project every year. Young volunteers from Lodz University of Technology acquire sponsors, tools and materials to spend their time during the holidays and renovate the facility that needs such revamping the most. Thanks to the initiative in previous years, new and better living conditions were provided to the residents of four orphanages in Łódź, the building intended for the Support Centre for Children and Families was renovated, as well as the destroyed building of the former junior high school. In the academic year 2021/22, Orphanage No. 15 in Łódź was refurbished. As every year, volunteers invited companies and individuals from the construction sector, but also from other industries, to enter into cooperation. More information.

A few years ago, employees of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences carried out an outdoor workshop entitled "The Tent of Merry Science" during the picnic on the Day of Foster Families. During the meeting, which took place on the TUL campus, microbiology workshops for children from foster families were also prepared. These individual events over time evolved into a series of microbiology workshops and outdoor meetings "Science is fun", intended for children growing up in foster families and orphanages. In the academic year 2021/22, these workshops were conducted twice - in March (laboratory workshops for children and youth from Ukraine) and in May (classes for children from foster families as part of a picnic for foster parents’ candidates organized by the Administrative Centre for Foster Care).

Employees of Lodz University of Technology take part in numerous activities related to helping people in the crisis of homelessness, who are the group most at risk and affected by the economic poverty. An example of activities aimed at these people is the active cooperation of the Office for People with Disabilities at Lodz University of Technology with a street worker (and also an addiction therapist), with whose assistance clothes and hygiene products are donated to the homeless. Individual TUL units also joined the project "With Home-No Home Box", which aims to help people without a home get out of homelessness, as well as help in meeting basic needs on their way to life stability. The support goes directly to the person in need and corresponds to their real needs.

Students and employees of the Faculty of Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics have been holding the "Operation: Saint Nicholas' Day". This is an event aimed at helping a family in need, which thanks to the support has a chance to improve their difficult situation and to spend Christmas happily. In order to help a selected family, online fundraising is organized, and the funds are used, for example, for the purchase of a laptop for remote learning. Food products, cleaning products and school supplies for children are also collected. Each donated product is a significant support for a family in need

TUL employees can use various forms of assistance financed by the Internal Social Benefits Fund. In 2021, 2 709 children of TUL employees benefited from co-financing for holidays organized on their own during the winter and

summer holidays. 28 people were granted loans so as to obtain their first independent flat or to improve their housing conditions. Loans for renovation and modernization of flats, granted on favorable terms, were also very popular. 108 people received them. Non-refundable financial aid was provided to 215 people. In 2021, 883 employees received a cash equivalent for a Christmas package for children, and 122 people benefited from subsidies to nurseries and kindergartens.

Students and participants of doctoral studies at Lodz University of Technology can also apply for financial support. In 2021, 509 students received social scholarships, 864 students and 23 doctoral students received the rector's scholarship, 109 students and 4 participants of doctoral studies - a special scholarship for people with disabilities. A student or doctoral student who is temporarily in a difficult life situation may apply for financial aid - 65 people, including 7 doctoral students, benefited from such assistance in 2021.