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CSI activities take place at corporate and divisional level. Furthermore, individual business units may launch initiatives when they confront specific needs in their operations.
These may become enduring commitments or may last only until immediate needs are met. This makes it difficult to present a comprehensive summary of Bidvest interventions. However, it is possible to give a broad impression. For example …
Bidvest supports: Wits Football Club as part of an effort to uplift low-income communities close to Wits campus, the Queen Noti Clinic, in Tsolo in the Eastern Cape (a facility it developed after a request from former president Nelson Mandela), the Topsy Foundation in efforts to assist Aids orphans, the SAPS Hillbrow Street Children Project and youth development work in Soweto (an initiative which grew out of the Hillbrow project).
Renfin companies support community projects, conservation, crime prevention, programmes to assist Aids babies and abused children, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and charities to assist the blind. The division is a member of Business Against Crime and contributes READ, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Child Welfare.
Rennies Bank assists the National Sea Rescue Institute, Karel du Toit School for the Deaf, Rotary Polio drive, Fikilela Aids project, Ebenhauser Retreat, Family Welfare, Aurora Special Care Centre, Baby Therapy Centre, Hillbrow Top Cop Awards, Hillbrow Victim Support Centre, Hillbrow SAPS, Business Against Crime, the Endangered Wildlife Fund, World Wildlife Fund, WIZO, SA Children’s Trust and the Seychelles-SA Orphans Exchange Programme.
Staff of Rennies Travel and Rennies Bank help the Siyagabisa Children, Youth and Community Organisation.
Master Currency supports the Masithwalisani Methodist Outreach Project (to help single mothers living with HIV/Aids) and sponsored a fully equipped classroom in Guguletu to be used by children with learning disabilities.
Rennies Travel contributes to the Business Trust through annual internship programmes at HDI schools and supports the Cotac Bridging Programme to help black school leavers to enter its industry. It also runs an internship programme to assist HDI students. The company helps Reach and Teach and supports work for HIV/Aids orphans through the Reach for the Hand Foundation. It assists three children’s homes (via Rotary) and supports Seal Special Education and Learning for the Mentally Handicapped.
BTI World Travel supports the Estee Lauder annual breast cancer campaign.
Concorde Travel supports Nkosi’s Haven, World Wide Fund for Nature, the Salvation Army, Nazareth House, Cancer Association for Children, the Deaf Association Natal, Highway Hospice and Community Chest.
Travel Connections supports Hospice.
Island View Storage supports the Ubuntu Community Chest, Highway Hospice and the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (the CROW programme to release wildlife back into their natural habitat).
Safcor Panalpina provides bursaries for the children of staff members, supports CIDA City Campus (providing affordable tertiary education to HDIs) and sponsors HDI students selected by CIDA.
Rennies Cargo Terminals gives employees financial assistance for study purposes.
The Catering Supplies Division helps a wide range of charities and churches including the Cameo Senior Centre, Reach for a Dream, Port Elizabeth Children’s Home and Echo Foundation.
Chipkins Catering Supplies has set up a test bakery at the Polokwane branch in a partnership with the Department of Health and Welfare to assist remote rural bakeries in skills development.
Crown National runs a Johannesburg-based adult education programme that has taken some employees to degree-level.
NCP Yeast sponsors students at the Sasko Sally Thola Baking Training Centre.
Waltons donates stationery and consumables to charities, NGOs and schools and supports the ‘Back to School’ project. Its KZN branch helps empower rural women via the Khanya Project. Women are trained in sewing and dress design while taking courses in literacy, numeracy and life- and business skills. Project participants are encouraged to train other women in their home communities and start small businesses. The company has also created the Waltons Human Empowerment Academy to transfer life and work skills to the unemployed children of its workers. The theme is ‘Ignite your Potential’.
Croxley sponsors bursaries for development cricketers, enabling them to study at Wits.
Kolok supports the Avril Elizabeth Home for cerebral palsy sufferers.
Dauphin Office Seating supports the Roodepoort Home for the Aged, Basket-R-Us, Boys’ Town and the Aids Foundation.
Seating donates funds to upgrade schools and clinics in communities near its Queenstown factory. It has also transformed an old dump site into a playground and soccer field to improve recreational infrastructure.
Lithotech supports numerous charities, including Tradeforms/Topform Athletics Club, Deaf SA, Institute for the Deaf, SA National Council for the Blind, Vista Nova School, Boys’ Town, Catholic Welfare, Good Hope Foundation, Salesian Mission, The City Mission, St Luke's Hospice, Western Cape Firefighters’ Association, Athlone Athletics, SA Wrestling Federation, Life Line SA, Red Cross, Nedbank Green Trust, Animal Anti-Cruelty League, SA Guide Dogs Sea Point and Stellenbosch Hospice. Lithotech also provides bursaries for employee’s children.
Voltex supports HIV/Aids awareness and counselling programmes for employees.
FedEx is an official sponsor of the SA Association of the Physically Disabled.
Steiner Hygiene fosters hygiene awareness among the youth through its HyGienie Educational Road Show to schools. It also assists schools through Project Deep Clean whereby its teams conduct a thorough cleansing of school bathrooms and donate chemicals and toilet paper to the institutions.
Admiral Sportswear donates soccer and netball kit to rural and underprivileged schools.
TMS-SHEZI assists NOAH (Nurturing Orphans of Aids for Humanity).
Provicom Electronics sponsors the soccer team of the POP Upliftment Project.
McCarthy is one of the main organisers of Rally to Read, a programme to improve literacy levels in rural communities and educational quality in under-resourced rural schools. (Waltons is also a significant contributor while group companies such as Rennies Financial Services, Rennies Travel and Safcor Panalpina provide additional support.) McCarthy is also a key supporter of the School Computer Centre Project to promote computer literacy among teachers and learners while providing supplementary mathematics and English education through computer-based programmes,
Namsov supports upliftment and development projects in Namibia via the Namsov Community Trust. |
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