Blue skies smiling at me

The very first ‘Light it up Blue’ event, an intiative by US organisation ‘Autism Speaks’, took place in 2011. The Synapsis Foundation later brought it to Poland and engaged advisors, managers and investment funds on the Polish real estate market. This year the companies involved included: Knight Frank, Golub GetHouse, PHN, Globalworth Poland Real Estate, Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE Polska, Colliers International, EPP, NAI Estate Fellows, Savills, BNP Paribas RE, JLL Poland and ‘Eurobuild CEE’ magazine.

“For the third time, the commercial real estate sector is supporting the Synapsis Foundation by taking part in the global ‘Light it up Blue’ campaign, which has turned April into an important month for people who live with this condition and their families. I’m happy that our involvement will help to increase awareness and to show solidarity with this section of society,” commented Daniel Bienias, the managing director of CBRE Poland.

Karol Smoląg, the marketing and communication director of real estate investor EPP, added: “EPP has been involved in increasing public awareness of autism for some time. This year the Q22 office building in Warsaw, which we manage, as well as our shopping centres in Kielce, Kłodzko and Włocławek, were all lit up in blue. In Włocławek and in Zamość we also marked World Autism Awareness Day together with our partners by holding a special educational workshop that included integration games.” A number of Polish real estate luminaries also featured in Eurobuild TV’s promotional film for the campaign, appearing in blue t-shirts emblazoned with the Synapsis Foundation’s slogan for the event: ‘Don’t be green about autism in April. Be blue!’ Real estate companies can also support the Foundation by donating 1 pct of their annual income tax to help children with autism. “One of the mottos of the Synapsis Foundation this April is ‘Light. Educate. Support’ – and our organisation strives to contribute in each of these areas. As usual, and in agreement with the buildings’ owners, we took part in the ‘Light it up Blue’ campaign. On Autism Awareness Day we encouraged our employees to express their solidarity with those on the autistic disorder spectrum and their loved ones by wearing blue clothing. I will also mention another of the things we did this year – a charity lottery that we held in early April in which the prizes were donated by our team,” said Marta Tinc, a partner and head of HR at Knight Frank Poland.