Baxter donates $98,000 to Caritas Malta

The Baxter International Foundation has made a $98,000 grant to Caritas Malta to fund the expansion and further development of its human resources over a two year period.

The grant is the highest ever made by the Baxter International Foundation in Malta, which since 2001 has awarded over $300,000 to local philanthropic associations. These included $65,000 to the Arka Foundation (2001); $50,544 to YMCA (2002); $45,512 to Eden Foundation (2003); $52,532 to JRS (2004); $46,500 to Razzett tal-Hbiberija (2005) and $44,500 to the Hospice Movement (2007).

The funding of the Caritas project will cover an increase in human resources and expertise in the Counselling and Social Work services which will include a counselling psychologist and a clinical psychologist. These will provide assessment and treatment of Caritas clients.

The project also covers training across all services and programmes in the field of addictions, mental health and sexually transmitted infections. The funding will also aid Caritas Malta in promoting increased awareness of the risks of sexually transmitted infections among pupils and students in schools and colleges through the Xefaq Awareness Campaign.

Mgr. Victor Grech, Director of Caritas Malta, expressed his gratitude and said that this donation would enable Caritas to improve its services and offer them to more persons in need. He said that Caritas depended to a large extent on donations, and the positive action taken by Baxter exemplified the fulfilment of a corporate social policy to the benefit of the local community.

Julian Dimech, Director Manufacturing for Baxter, Malta operations, said that the Baxter International Foundation’s support to Caritas Malta was a natural one and in line with the company’s philosophy to help increase access to health care worldwide especially in communities where significant number of Baxter employees lived and worked.

Baxter has been established in Malta since 1988 and employs around 500 people at its Marsa facility where it manufactures a range of disposable medical devices for the health care industry.