Vodacom Foundation

Vodacom staff across South Africa will volunteer their time on 18 July 2010 in a range of community activities in celebration of Mandela Day.

Vodacom's activities, which will focus mainly on Vodacom-supported non-profit organisations across the country, also mark the company's second annual Foundation Day. Foundation Day is an annual event celebrated by Vodacom Foundations in the 23 countries in which Vodafone operates.

Mandela Day is a call to action for people to devote 67 minutes of their time to do something that will change the world for the better. The day commemorates the 67 years of service by South Africa's first democratically-elected president to his community, country and the world. The amount of time chosen - 67 minutes - is a symbol of how anyone can become part of a continuous, global movement for good by taking small steps at a time.

Vodacom is also a supporter of a motor bike tour from Johannesburg to Cape Town from 13-18 July. A representative group of ordinary riders and a few celebrity and professional bikers, media, medical, back-up and technical riders will ride between 300 and 400 kms every day, stopping off at various community projects to encourage members of the public to join the Mandela Day initiative.

In celebration of Vodacom Foundation Day, Vodacom has organised various volunteer activities in eight regional centres ranging from planting a vegetable gardens and providing tinned food for shelters, to washing bottles and changing nappies for babies, and providing manicures for people with disabilities.

The staff volunteer activities in each region, and the non-profit organizations they will support, include the following:

• In Johannesburg, staff of the Vodacom Foundation will visit children of the Smile Foundation at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital to give them a party. They will also establish a Vegitunnel at Changing Life Ministries.
• Gauteng North region: Staff will create a recreational space for 140 people with disabilities at Employee Solutions. They will also paint and upgrade a workspace for wheelchair repairs and provide shelving for storage.
• Western Cape region: The Haven Night Shelter in District 6 will benefit from a vegetable garden created by the Vodacom volunteers. They will also supply tinned food, refurbish blankets and bedding, upgrade the vinyl floors and generally clean the facilities.
• Staff from Vodacom Life Centre in the Johannesburg CBD will spend the day cooking and serving food at the ACFS feeding scheme, based in Soweto.
• Babies at New Beginningz in Laudium, Pretoria, will enjoy the attention of Vodacom staff from Midrand Service Park who will wash and sterilise bottles, prepare meals, feed and bathe the babies, wash and iron clothes and generally give them a happy day. They will also sort through donations received by the haven and conduct some electrical maintenance.
• In Gauteng South, Vodacom volunteers will do gardening, window cleaning and carpentry at the Orlando Children's Home. They will also play games with the children and read to the toddlers.
• The Uthando House in Mpumalanga will have its office and kitchen painted by Vodacom volunteers from the Mpumalanga region. They will also clean the centre, plant flowers and fruit trees and fix fences.
• Midrand Corporate Park: Staff will work on a footpath and establish a vegetable garden at a home in Sunninghill belonging to the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa.
• Midrand Techno Park and Central Region: Staff at these two centres will read to children at Sunninghill and Heidedal Netcare hospitals, respectively.
• Vodacom volunteers from KwaZulu/Natal will contribute to a NOAH centre in Harding.
• In the Eastern Cape, staff will do cleaning duties and beautify the children's play garden at the Victoria Hospital in Alice.
• Women residents at the Association for Persons with Disabilities in Limpopo will be treated to manicures. The residents will be hosted to lunch and some games by Vodacom volunteers and will receive gifts.