Botellas con Alma, EVOO with heart from Almazaras de la Subbética
At Goya Spain, we support Almazaras de la Subbética‘s “Botellas con Alma” (Bottles with Soul) charitable project, through which the producers at this Carcabuey cooperative (one of our main suppliers), raise funds for research into childhood leukemia in collaboration with Asociación “Sonrisas sin Cáncer” (Smiles without Cancer Association).
As Nuria Yáñez, technical director of Almazaras de la Subbética SCA, notes: the original idea for this project was at the end of 2017 when her son Alejandro was diagnosed with leukemia at just eleven months of age.
“Our cooperative is in Carcabuey – a town of 2,300 inhabitants where we all feel like a family, and which is why the diagnosis of my son’s illness hit all our neighbors hard. The support we received during those difficult times led me to suggest to our commercial director the idea of creating a solidarity project to raise funds for research into this terrible disease, and that is how Botellas con Alma came about,” says Nuria.
A child’s creativity transformed into a message
Under the “Botellas con Alma” initiative, bottles of Almazaras de la Subbética oils are personalized with labels designed by children from local schools. “We initially presented the project to 20 schools close to our cooperative. Under the theme ‘Family, Olive Groves and Oil’, pupils from these schools created drawings on FSC-certified cardboard, which are the labels which we use with our bottles of oil. This means each bottle is unique,” says Nuria.
Over the four years, Almazaras de la Subbética’s collaboration with Sonrisas sin Cáncer has gone from strength to strength in partnership with nine schools within the Community of Madrid. In addition, after the project was initially presented last summer at the Madrid ZOO, both entities are organizing a new outreach day for the project at FAUNIA Park next June.
Research and awareness-raising
For each bottle sold under this social project, Almazaras de la Subbética allocates part of the amount to “Sonrisas sin Cáncer” Association projects, focused on two areas of action: research into treatments, in partnership with the La Paz Hospital in Madrid; and education and awareness programs which, as Nuria Yáñez points out, “is very much needed and often forgotten about”.
“Imagine what it’s like for an 8-year-old to be diagnosed with leukemia. In the vast majority of cases, the child will be out of school for about two years, without being able to see their friends and teachers. When they return, their classmates are different and schools need to raise awareness amongst the entire educational community,” the head of Almazaras de la Subbética explains.
Through this project, Almazaras de la Subbética is strengthening its corporate social responsibility work, and demonstrating that the welfare of its partners and families is as important as the quality of its oils. “Through this project we have met families with children affected by leukemia and other very complex diseases. Everything in life happens for a reason, and the fact that it happened to my son allowed me to do my bit with the invaluable help of my company,” concludes the head of Almazaras de la Subbética.
At Goya Spain, we add our voice to that of Almazaras de la Subbética in appreciation for this wonderful initiative, the main aim of which is to support children and their families during difficult times. We urge you please to help by purchasing “Botellas con Alma”.
