According to Klemencas Agentas, the founder of the Mantinga Charity and Support Fund, which will be celebrating its 16th anniversary this month, it is the duty of every business to find ways not only to help those who need help, but also to initiate changes beneficial to the society as a whole.

Established in 2007, the charity and support fund mainly focuses on two priority areas: advanced and innovative educational methods and changes in Marijampolė's educational institutions, as well as city and community activities.

"This is our commitment to the community and Marijampolė as an innovative and creative company – to be a reliable business, to contribute to the creation of comprehensive well-being and to lend a helping hand when needed. This business philosophy is also reflected in the activities of our charity and support fund", says Agentas.

The founder of Mantinga, the largest producer of bread, snacks and frozen products in the Baltic States, has been awarded various awards from Marijampolė for his altruistic activities: Agentas is an honorary citizen of Marijampolė, he was awarded the Order of Saint George and other awards.

Exclusive focus on education

Klemencas Agentas, the founder of the Mantinga Charity and Support Fund, describes the exclusive attention paid by the business to education as one of the most important goals: "We adhere to the philosophy that educational institutions are the foundations from which the path of every person's life begins. It depends on the quality of these foundations where our young people will want to study and work. Therefore, by investing in their future, we wish to raise not only good employees, but also good people for the whole of Lithuania.“

So far, the Mantinga Charity and Support Fund has already donated various equipment to Marijampolė educational institutions: LEGO robot constructor sets, Bee-Bot educational robots for preschool education institutions, laser machines, integrated education textbooks, equipment sets of miniature golf for physical education classes, history textbooks, new tablets and other innovative educational tools.

"We want the schools of Marijampolė not to be inferior to the educational institutions of the big cities of Lithuania, so that our children would have all the opportunities to use the latest technologies and achieve better results", comments the Head of the Fund, Žaneta Grašienė.

According to the interlocutor, the initiation of changes in the field of education includes much more ambitious goals, including the progressive entrepreneurship education programme starting on 1 September of this year.
By joining forces together with the municipality of Marijampolė, a project is being implemented that will allow the city to be the first in Lithuania where all schools will have an entrepreneurship education programme developed by "Lietuvos Junior Achievement". It will apply to pupils of all grades, i.e. from preschool to high school.

The company encourages employees' children to attend the LISPA school of computer literacy where they could acquire knowledge of robotics and programming. Mantinga itself contributed to the founding of LISPA, providing not only financial support for its establishment, but also advice necessary for the commencement of its activities.

Focus on current issues

Mantinga's activities are also inseparable from the constant support of Food Bank – since 2012, more than EUR 100,000 worth of produce has been allocated to this organisation every year.

"As the largest producers of bread, snacks and frozen products, we are very interested in more sustainable consumption – we adhere to this ourselves and encourage others not to waste food products that are still suitable for consumption. For this reason, we give the products that do not meet the appearance, weight or other requirements of production intended for sale, but are still suitable for consumption, to the Food Bank and other organisations. We also support education, culture, art, sports and other events with various baked goods", explains Grašienė.

According to her, financial support is also absolutely indispensable – more than EUR 100,000 has been allocated to various activities every year, but unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Russia's war in Ukraine adjust not only the plans of support, but also the fund's budget.

"When the pandemic started, some social projects had to be pushed aside, because all attention was paid to managing the pandemic and helping the Marijampolė hospital, although it is not related to the company's direct activities. We allocated EUR 95,000 in support and contributed to the support collected by the Rotary Club of Marijampolė so that the hospital could purchase a special X-ray machine and a high-flow oxygen machine, which were urgently needed at that time. We are pleased that this equipment is still being used, even after the pandemic has subsided," says the Head of Mantinga Charity and Support Fund.

The interviewee mentioned the pain treatment clinic, which was opened last year in Marijampolė, as another wellness initiative.

One of Mantinga's priorities last year was providing help to Ukraine and Ukrainians fleeing the war, i.e. not only financial support was provided, but also products, various items needed by the refugees were donated.

"At such moments, it is easy to measure the kindness, dedication and determination of not only oneself, but also the surrounding people, wishing to help those who need it most at that moment. We are proud of every employee who contributed to the support of Ukrainians, went to volunteer at refugee centres and joined the Food Bank, the aid organised by the municipality of Marijampolė intended to help people fleeing the war", says Grašienė.