Supercell prove their superhero qualities with €3.4m charity donation


    When Supercell announced the sale of 51% of their shares to Gungho and Softbank for $1.5 billion we suspected that we would see some of that money trickle down to benefit others in Finland. At the time we thought that might be other startups, local restaurants and pubs. Well perhaps that is happening, but what we have learnt has surprised and given us a wonderful sense of Christmas cheer.

    The great thing to keep in mind about this story is that it isn’t Supercell as a company giving money to a good cause, but it’s actually money raised from donations by Supercell’s employees. What this group of heroes has done is amass €3.4 million to go towards the construction of a new children’s hospital in Meilahti. Donations also came in from San Francisco, Tokyo and Seoul as employees showed an extraordinary level of generosity.

    The original children’s hospital was built in 1946 and is now in a very run down state which has made the construction of a replacement something of a necessity. The support association for the children’s hospital have set a target of €30 million to go towards the total cost of the construction and this is the single largest donation the building fund has received increasing the total raised so far to about €13 million. Which really isn’t bad considering they’d only set themselves the goal of raising €6 million this year.

    The planned completion date is 2017 and in total it’s expected to cost €160 million with a quarter being paid for by the government, a second quarter by the Uusimaa municipalities, with the remainder being covered by a loan and donations raised.

    Christmas is a time for generosity, we choose to overcome the downcast feelings that can be brought on from winter’s long dark nights and celebrate the good. So thanks to Supercell in this season for leading the way in a great act of charity and kindness.

    Top Image Courtesy of Shutterstock // Hospital