In this round of contributions, the Terminal is investing in 17 new projects in the areas of health, sport and culture
In the most recent round of investments in June, TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, invested in 17 social projects in Curitiba, Paranaguá and the metropolitan region. Among the projects that benefited were the “Escolinha de Triathlon”, which promotes sports training for young talents and is about to open a new center in Paranaguá, and the “Coletivo Inclusão”, which has been holding the Cultural Festival for People with Disabilities for four years, strengthening inclusion initiatives through art and diversity.
According to Patrícia Cobra, TCP’s marketing and administrative affairs manager, “our commitment is to the areas that need it most, such as health, education and culture. We believe that companies play a crucial role in giving back to the local community and supporting projects like these is a way of ensuring that our impact is positive and significant in the lives of these people.”
Triathlon School and the democratization of sport
Ten years ago, Pan-American Triathlon medalist Juraci Moreira was in his last year as a professional athlete after representing Brazil in three Olympics. During this career transition, he dreamed of continuing in the sport in some way. That’s when, in 2015, he transformed a small triathlon school project in Curitiba, which had just thirty students, into a national initiative that today has 34 centers throughout Brazil, serving almost 2,000 children.
The main aim of the Triathlon School is to promote sport among children and young people at risk of social vulnerability by offering swimming, cycling and running lessons. The project is divided into morning and afternoon classes, catering for students aged between 8 and 17. The classes are taught by a specialized technical team and take place twice a week, from Monday to Thursday, with a workload of two hours a day for each class of 30 athletes.
“The difference when a student joins and after a year is striking. Our main goal is to educate through sport, and it’s a great pleasure to see that, for a few hours a day, we’re able to get the children away from their cell phone screens and get them exercising and making friends. As well as promoting sport, the project has a great impact on the socialization of young people,” says Juraci.
The Triathlon School is inaugurating a new center in Paranaguá, which is currently in the pre-registration phase and already has a waiting list of 300 students. “Paranaguá has an old and respected history in triathlon. Setting up this project here was a big dream of mine, especially since Triathlon has always been considered an elitist and expensive sport to practice. What we’re doing with the school is democratizing this sport, offering it completely free of charge to low-income children and teenagers, with the quality and structure of a private project.”
In this respect, each participant receives individual uniforms, sports equipment for shared use and food kits after the activities. For this reason, Juraci explains that TCP’s support has been fundamental to the project’s success. “Everything that is seen in the project, from the bikes, coats, swimming goggles, helmets and snacks, to the monthly remuneration of the technical team, is only possible thanks to TCP and other companies and partners,” he says. “We’ve seen that Paranaguá has an incredible demand, and I’m already thinking about opening new centers.”
With a promising start in Paranaguá and a successful track record in other cities and states, Escolinha de Triathlon continues to transform lives and inspire young people to overcome challenges through sport. “Projects like these prove that, with dedication and support, sport can be a powerful tool for social inclusion, and it is very gratifying for us to support this new center in Paranaguá,” says Patrícia Cobra, TCP’s marketing and administrative affairs manager.
Project creates inclusion for people with disabilities through the arts
Coletivo Inclusão was born around ten years ago, when a group of people determined to do meaningful social work met. Formally founded in 2017, the project promotes the social inclusion of people with disabilities through cultural, sporting, health and social assistance activities. In the first quarter of 2024, around 1,005 people a week were served. Indirectly, 4,020 people were impacted through the Cultural Exhibitions and the support provided to family members.
“Our theater workshops are a powerful tool for self-expression and self-knowledge, while capoeira classes develop physical fitness. Dance and musicalization reduce anxiety and promote joy,” explains Vitto Matheus Perruzo, one of the project’s creators. All these cultural activities offered by the Collective have generated significant transformations in the lives of the participants and, over the years, several inspiring stories of overcoming have passed through the project.
Luiz Fernando, for example, was one of the first drama students at APAE in Fazenda Rio Grande. “Right from the start, he showed himself to be a dedicated student, with a special sparkle in his eyes when it came to communication,” Perruzo recalls. Today, Luiz Fernando is a reporter for Coletivo Inclusão, and will be recording everything at the 4th edition of the “Inclusão em Cena Festival”, which will take place in May 2025. The last edition, held at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in May of this year, featured panels, lectures, an innovation desk, an employability group and workshops, making it one of the biggest events on the inclusion of people with disabilities in Curitiba.
In addition to the capital, Coletivo Inclusão is currently present in eight municipalities in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil. In Paranaguá, 219 people with disabilities are assisted each week, with theater, capoeira and musicalization workshops. “Partnering with companies like TCP is fundamental, not only for funding, but also for promoting respect for differences and inclusion,” says Perruzo. “This support strengthens our credibility and increases the social impact of the project, guaranteeing the means to maintain and expand our activities.”
With the continued support of partners like TCP, Coletivo Inclusão continues to grow, offering more opportunities for people with disabilities and helping to build a fairer and more inclusive society.
Continued commitment to the community
In addition to the initiatives mentioned above, another four projects have benefited from the Rouanet Law, two from the Sports Law, five from the Childhood and Adolescence Fund (FIA) and four from the Elderly Law. Since 2007, the company has allocated part of the taxes from its operations to social projects through tax incentive laws, totaling 111 initiatives to date.
The other projects in this round include “Qualification of Care for the Elderly”, which aims to modernize the Hemodynamics sector and guarantee high-quality treatments and exams through the SUS, and the Crescer Project, which offers multidisciplinary support to children and adolescents with disabilities.
With its wide-ranging activities in different areas, by the end of 2024 TCP is expected to make two more rounds of contributions to social projects through tax incentive laws.
