Helping Those Who Help (HTWH), the employee-driven charitable programme of the Candriam Institute, has selected the charities to receive support from the Institute in 2026. Since launching in 2001, HTWH has donated nearly €2.45 million to 127 associations, supporting more than 244 projects across our communities.
This year’s call invited colleagues to nominate charities working on social inclusion - initiatives that help people rebuild stability, dignity and opportunity. The response was strong: 29 applications were submitted, reflecting both the breadth of need and the commitment of Candriam employees to support impactful local solutions.
Following a thorough review, the HTWH Committee selected 16 charities. Together, they will share €175,000 to finance projects in nine countries: Portugal, the United Kingdom, Nepal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Belgium, France, Gambia and Malawi. These partnerships span a wide range of frontline interventions, from improving access to essential services to strengthening community resilience—always with the same aim: to support those who help, so that more people can move forward with security and hope.
A full list of the selected charities can be viewed at the end of the article.
Spotlight: Just a Change
For many of us, ‘home’ is a given – a place of safety, warmth and privacy. But across Portugal, housing poverty remains a hidden crisis. Just a Change is a Portuguese non-profit organisation. Founded in 2010, it is dedicated to rehabilitating the homes of people living in housing poverty, restoring basic living standards such as thermal insulation, structural safety, plumbing, electricity and sanitation.
The organisation works from a simple principle: decent housing is a fundamental right, and when it is missing, the consequences ripple through every part of life—health, schooling, employment, social inclusion and dignity.
That focus is paired with a highly operational model: Just a Change mobilises volunteers —often students and young professionals — alongside technical teams, and partners with municipalities, local social organisations and companies to deliver renovations efficiently and safely.
A track record of measurable impact
Over the last 15 years, Just a Change has grown from a small volunteer initiative into a nationwide movement for housing dignity. Working in more than 40 municipalities across Portugal, the organisation has transformed 600 homes and community institutions — improving living conditions for over a thousand people. Behind every renovation is a network of committed volunteers who give their time and skills to ensure that families, older people and vulnerable residents can live in safe, warm and structurally sound homes.
When community effort becomes real-life change
What does this look like in practice? In a recent report, Just a Change highlights how the Candriam Institute’s support, now in its third consecutive year, has contributed to programmes that mobilised volunteers to renovate homes. Across the cases documented, works included steps such as insulation, roof repairs, electrical overhauls and improved bathroom facilities—exactly the kinds of changes that can shift a household from day-to-day risk to stability and comfort.
Just a Change’s method also protects something that matters deeply: continuity. Renovations are designed so that beneficiaries can remain rooted in their communities, while volunteers build relationships with the neighbourhoods they serve—helping turn “help” into belonging.
What HTWH support will help deliver
Just a Change’s 2026 initiative, Turn Up - Lisboa, nominated by Candriam’s Pedro Oliveira, who previously volunteered on renovation projects with the organisation. The initiative builds on the Just a Change’s proven model of volunteer-driven renovation in major urban centres. Lisbon combines high volunteer potential with significant need: the charity highlights over 18,000 people living in poor housing conditions in the city, often elderly or facing financial precarity.
Turn Up – Lisboa 2026 aims to rehabilitate six homes in priority neighbourhoods, improving living conditions for around 12 beneficiaries. The programme is designed to be both rigorous and repeatable, from the identification of homes through local partnerships, to technical evaluation, volunteer mobilisation, supervised renovation works, and post-project monitoring. The work focuses on what matters most for health and dignity: thermal efficiency, accessibility and safety.
Housing poverty is often invisible, hidden behind ordinary doors we pass every day. What stands out about Just a Change is the of their impact: they transform unsafe homes into dignified places to live, mobilising volunteers around a shared sense of community. Supporting Turn Up – Lisboa 2026 means restoring safety and comfort to families and older people who cannot carry out these repairs alone.
In making the invisible visible, Just a Change reminds us that meaningful impact often begins right behind the doors we pass every day.
HTWH 2026 selected charities
- Bras Dessus Bras Dessous & Accolage
- Associaçao Just a Change
- Bibliothèques Sans Frontières
- Making the Leap
- Good to Give
- Fundacion Amigos de Monkole
- Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank
- Rolling Douche asbl
- CAMI Sport & Cancer
- Life Protect 4 youth
- Fondation CHR de la Citadelle
- Potentia Asbl
- High Her asbl
- Fonds Ngangi
- The Neno Macadamia Trust
- Stiftung Sabab Lou