Vodacom launches 10 day employee campaign to honour Mandela Day

With just over 9 days to go until Mandela Day, Vodacom is pleased to announce the launch of its national 10 day long Mandela Day campaign. Set to kick off on 11 July, the campaign will afford the 6 000 Vodacom employees and executives the opportunity to give back to their communities.

Aimed at entrenching the value that even the smallest contribution can add to change lives, Mandela Day encourages people around the world to spend 67 minutes of their time to giving back to their communities in honour of one of our greatest leaders. The annual Vodacom Foundation Day, which enables staff to participate by volunteering, is in celebration of Mandela Day this year.

"Our employees are enormously excited about the contribution that they can make all over the country and as an organization we are pleased that we are able to put the power of change into their hands for a full 10 days," said Mthobi Tyamzashe, Vodacom's Executive Director for CSI.

"We will be kicking off with the Mandela Day Biker Challenge, of which we are a co-sponsor.  This activity is a great way to spread the message that we are serious about creating possibilities and changing lives."

The eight-day motorcycle circuit to rural communities in Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Swaziland, will see a group of celebrities and business people, stopping at various charities along the route to devote 67 minutes of their time to community projects.  Two of the eight charities visited are Vodacom-supported initiatives.

On top of this,Vodacom has also created daily events throughout the country for its employees to participate in. The activities will run from 11 to 20 July and include:

Western Cape (19 July):  Vodacom will be revamping and cleaning up the garden at the community centre in Khayelitsha by planting trees, installing drip irrigation and shade cloths for growing seedlings.

Eastern Cape (18 July): General renovation and redecorating to the Fort Gray Safe Home in East London, this includes putting up fencing, painting the interiors, replacing wooden structures and using wallpaper to brighten up the home.

KZN (13 July):  The children at 1000 Hills Community Centre love soccer and outdoor activities.  Vodacom will be protecting children from the sun by erecting shade cloth over the sandpit, installing basketball hoops and 2 goalposts to create a mini soccer field.

Mpumalanga (13 and 14 July):  Drug and substance abuse is a serious issue amongst today's youth.  Vodacom will be supporting a SANCA school holiday camp to educate children on the dangers of drug and alcohol use by supervising the children, preparing and judging a talent show, a motivational talk and the provision of food.

Limpopo (19 July):  The Waterberg Welfare Society provides support to individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.  Health is a very important feature for patients and Vodacom will be establishing a veggie garden to assist their well-being as well as feeding the tiny orphans at the facility.

Free State (18 July):  The Free State Care in Action programme looks after the well-being of children, the aged and communities.  Vodacom will be giving the crèche a much-needed makeover by fixing the roof, plumbing and broken fixtures, painting and installing econo heaters to keep the children warm during these cold winter days.

Northern Cape (18 July):  Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) makes a valuable contribution to fighting crime in the country.  Vodacom's Northern Cape team has arranged a soccer tournament for staff and homeless children that the organisation supports and will be donating soccer kits for the winners, t-shirts and will be installing hotdog stands for the homeless children.

Northern Gauteng (19 July):  Vodacom will be renovating the lockers at Opkyk Pathways Therapy and Education Centre in Brits.  Part of this will be to paint and decorate the lockers, to install a jungle gym and to be involved in doing something special with the residents, who are physically and mentally disabled.

Southern Gauteng (18 July):  Vodacom staff will be revamping and cleaning the education centre at the Sandton SPCA to make the environment better for animals and staff.

Midrand (18 July): Sizanani Childrens Home takes care of children with physical and mental disabilities.  Vodacom will be ensuring that residents have access to fresh produce by installing a veggie tunnel and will also pave and build a pathway to make wheelchair access easier.  The team will also be installing a jungle gym at the home.

Randburg (19 July):  The Little Legends Foundation allows underprivileged children the opportunity to be part of a football skills development programme. Vodacom is going to surprise the children by installing their very own jungle gym.

"This year, we have made good progress in putting the customer at the heart of our business. A big part of this is truly understanding our customers and the challenges that face them on a daily basis. By giving our employees the opportunity to get involved in their communities we are empowering them to make a real difference to the lives of our customers," said Tyamzashe.

Vodacom executives and staff will be volunteering at the various charities during working hours. This Vodacom employee commitment can be expressed through giving of their time, skills, donating goods or via payroll giving.