Sanofi's Korea business used an indoor soccer game, known as futsal, as a way to help address the social disconnection experienced by individuals without housing.
This month, the pharmaceutical company hosted the founding ceremony of the homeless futsal club called "Dream." As part of the Helping Hands program, Sanofi employees played a friendly match in Seongsu-dong in Seoul, South Korea.
The match was hosted together with Dalpengyee, a nonprofit organization, to promote “self-sufficiency among" homeless people, according to a press release.
Sanofi sponsored the foundation of Dream as part of its decadelong Helping Hands program, which is dedicated to promoting the right to health for homeless people and preventing the social disconnection they often experience. Notably, Helping Hands is also Korea's largest free flu vaccination program for homeless people.
Through sponsorship, Sanofi, a company that markets several big-selling flu vaccines, said it aims to help homeless people "rebuild a positive self-image via sports, and encourage confidence."
Following the founding ceremony, the Dream will continue on as an official futsal club in the Korea Futsal League.
The creation of Helping Hands by Sanofi played a role in changing social awareness of people without homes, "allowing other Korean companies to join in improving the right to health of" homeless people, said Pascal Robin, general manager of Sanofi Korea’s Vaccine Business Unit, in a release. "As we did with Helping Hands, Sanofi seeks to better the diverse rights of the homeless through sponsoring the foundation of the homeless futsal club ‘Dream’, hoping to contribute to creating a society that is more inclusive and understanding.”