Miodrag Kostić and MK Group are this year’s winners of two prestigious VIRTUS Awards for Philanthropy. The special VIRTUS Award for contribution to the endowment went to Miodrag Kostić, President and Founder of MK Group, within whose endowment the Palace of Science will be opened, the first center for research and popularization of science in Serbia, a bestowment to society worth 25 million euros. Also, the MK Group company was presented with the VIRTUS Award for Corporate Philanthropy, for humanitarian activities through the socially responsible program “Family Support”, for which a total of one million euros was allocated last year.
„We would like to thank the Trag Foundation and the jury who recognized the desire of Mr. Miodrag Kostić to leave lasting value to our people. The Endowment will spread the message, especially to young people, that knowledge and humanity are of the greatest value, and that science and charity streamline the society”, said Aleksandra Stojanović, Director of Corporate Affairs of MK Group and member of the Board of Directors of the Miodrag Kostić Endowment, at the awarding ceremony of the special VIRTUS Award to Miodrag Kostić.
The VIRTUS Award for Corporate Philanthropy is awarded to companies that stand out for a systematic and thoughtful approach to community support, but also show a commitment to participating in activities that have a broad social impact. MK Group is this year’s winner of this important recognition thanks to the numerous philanthropic activities it carried out last year, among which donations to kindergartens in Serbia and the region stand out.
„Last year, we renovated and equipped 20 kindergartens in the Adria region, eight of which are in Serbia, in the local communities where we operate. In total, we donated 680 thousand euros for this purpose. In addition, we allocated 220,000 euros for SOS Children’s Villages, specifically for the Maternity Home in Kraljevo and the Center for Family Empowerment in Raška. Most of the funds are strategically directed to projects of national importance, and this year we continue to connect the region through charity, through a new philanthropic project that we will soon announce “, pointed out Aleksandra Stojanović and added that the MK Group has committed to allocating five million euros for social responsibility over the next five years.
Trag Foundation awarded VIRTUS philanthropy awards for the seventeenth time, with the support of the American Agency for International Development – USAID, the OAK Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. This award represents a point of reference for all those who invest in the common wellbeing and is awarded with the aim of promoting and stimulating philanthropy in Serbia.
