Adopt-a-School Foundation encourages companies to go Back to School for Mandela Day
Submitted by: Zelda Jacobs
On July 18, which marks the 15th International Nelson Mandela Day, the Foundation will be hosting its 12th Back to School for Mandela Day Campaign. The annual initiative makes an appreciable difference while commemorating active citizenship, volunteerism, and organisations championing crucial causes in society.
The Foundation, a partner entity of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is a non-profit organisation that implements Whole School Development (WSD). This model focuses on school leadership, curriculum, infrastructure and learner well-being. Our programmes are the cornerstone of the Foundation’s mandate to help schools in need in every aspect.
Since 2012, the Back to School for Mandela Day initiative has mobilised corporate partners to go back to school and spend their 67 minutes supporting volunteer activities in schools. Through this initiative, the Foundation and its corporate partners have benefitted eleven schools and thousands of learners.
AAS Chief Executive Officer, Steven Lebere states: “By mobilising resources to dedicate their 67 minutes supporting Whole School Development volunteer activities at a school, corporates embrace the principles of Ubuntu.”
For Back to School for Mandela Day 2024, the initiative will take place at a school in Soweto. The Foundation’s theme for this initiative is creating a conducive teaching and learning environment through the implementation of multiple projects under the Foundation’s Whole School Development model. At the end of this initiative, the Soweto school and its 1200 learners will have benefitted from various activities that include the expansion of the vegetable garden, renovations and furnishing of the computer laboratory and library, renovations of the combination court and the Grade R play area, an inventor for the computer laboratory and library and a JoJo tank to get through water shedding.
The learners will receive a virtual reality experience that will allow them to delve into space; eyesight testing will be conducted and spectacles will be donated. Further, learners will receive Corndogs, snacks that will include Shoprite Foundation goodies and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Coco the Money Bunny books donated by ,MetSoP (PTY) LTD, a financial literacy talk by the author of the book - Nicollette Mashile, sanitary pads from Shoprite Foundation alongside SHE bins, a health, sanitation and sexuality education talk by Adopt-a-School, stationery by Waltons, and a reading session by Miss South Africa.
AAS Chief Executive, Steven Lebere said: “This would not have been possible without the support of our main sponsor, AngloGold Ashanti, and supporting sponsors Shoprite Foundation, Howard Pims Sports Club, Premier Optical, School-Days, SIP Project managers, Krispy Kreme, author Nicolette Mashile the financial bunny, Waltons and participating organisations who purchased corporate packages such as the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, KST, Black Umbrellas, MetSoP (PTY) LTD and Lesaka Technologies (Pty) Ltd. We appreciate these corporates for heeding our call and participating in our Back to School for Mandela Day, ensuring the school is transformed into a conducive teaching and schooling environment.”
For more information regarding the Adopt-a-School Foundation's back to School for Mandela Day 2024, visit the Adopt-a-School Foundation website.
