What does Corporate Social Investment mean to you?
No longer is CSI seen as a charitable donation, an enhanced corporate image, a tax write-off or a solution for the corporate conscience, but rather as contributing to the real needs of the community in which you operate. More sustainable growth could be delivered if management could see CSI as part of their strategic environment, contributing to real social development and economic progress.
A popular approach to CSI is mentoring – affording previously disadvantaged individuals the opportunity to develop skills and an understanding of how best to manage their careers, how their actions impact on their success and how to improve on the things they are good at, to grow and to make their mark in the world. Anyone can be a mentor – regardless of current position – as there is always someone who is less experienced or just starting out who is looking for guidance.
Konrad Laker, CEO of Gold Travel, believes that it is imperative for any business operating in South Africa to be a part of the solution and not the problem in contributing to Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and to look at other ways of giving back, and not necessarily just with the focus of improving your bottom line.
Under Laker’s guidance and support, young entrepreneur Tendai Chawasarira, a qualified Barista, was able to open his own coffee shop, Bean@Beuna, in their office block and he is enormously grateful for the opportunity. “I am able improve my skills and work experience, which has ignited my passion for coffee again; the ideas for a bigger menu are flowing, and with our client base growing I am about to hire extra staff.” The potential of uplifting the community has improved, and employee morale is also enhanced with the buy-in and support of everyone in the office and the corporate park.
Laker believes CSI is a give-and-take scenario – you give to plough back into the community and take to identify potential contributors for your own business, from a pool of beneficiaries.He is committed to spending more time on mentoring and once this model has proved to be working, would like to start using it as a template for other qualifying individuals.
Mentoring is an enriching process both for yourself and for the mentoree, as you will be making an important difference to someone else while at the same time refining some of your own personal and work practices – the gift that keeps on giving.
Spur CSI programme reaches more than 30 000 children
Johannesburg - The Spur Soccer Masidlale Programme concluded after 17 weeks instilling essential life skills into young lives and reaching more than 30 000 children within historically disadvantaged areas since its inception in 2005.
Bellavista Creche, an NPO located in Bellavista East was the charity who won the R10 000 prize yesterday at the finals played in Soweto.
What started out as 12 one-day soccer clinics involving 10-12 year olds, has grown into a fully-fledged annual soccer league in the main metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
One of Spur’s corporate social investment aims is to use sport to uplift communities. The central venues are selected in historically disadvantaged areas where school sport participation is low. The Masidlale Programme fills this gap.
Each one of the cities had 200 players (100 girls and 100 boys) taking part who come from 10 local schools. The teams are given Spur-branded soccer kits which they can keep. Primary schools that have participated per region were as follows:
Kwa-Zulu Natal
- Zandile
- Emthetweni
- Inkonkoni
- Zwelesithembiso
- Thamela
- Isipingo
- Lindelani
- Mzwilili
- Fundakakhle
- Phila
Winning schools were Zandile (boys) and Inkonkoni (girls).
Port Elizabeth
- Enkwenkwezini
- Elundini
- Dumani
- Elufefeni
- Fumisikoma
- Melisizwe
- Zanoxolo
- Ikhwezelihle
- Mpumalanga
- Siyaphambili
Winning schools were Enkwenkweni (boys) and Elufefeni (girls).
Cape Town
- Lwazi
- Luzuko
- Lehlohonolo
- Ilitha
- Mseki
- Vukukhanya
- Sokhanyo
- Sonwabo
- Vuyane
- Xolani
Winning schools were Sonwabo (boys) and Lwazi (girls).
Johannesburg
- JB Marks
- Julius Sebolayi
- Bonamelo
- Braamfischer
- Nkoni Maruping
- Obed Mosiane
- Moses Kotane
- Mayibuye
- Khulanolwazi
- Kid Maponya
Winning schools were Julius Sebolai (boys) and Obed Mosiane (girls).
According to Khakhi Diala, Brand Activation Manager of the Spur Group, sport teaches us more than just physical skills; sport is a metaphor for life. That is why Spur has included a life skills programme to run alongside the soccer league.
“Spur Steak Ranches is again proud to have completed a very successful Spur Soccer Masidlale program for the 11th Year now, 800 boys and girls from four provinces duly benefited from the skills development and life skills elements that they went through” We are also proud to have donated R10 000 to a needy charity”, added Khakhi.
Fifty mentors per league met with their groups every two weeks to explore essential skills needed to excel in life. The mentors teach self-esteem, positive behaviour changes and wise decision making. They equip the children beyond the sports field into home and school life. 20 girls and 20 boys are then chosen for further mentoring.
The main prize for the winning team is that they become mascots at PSL games.
To ensure the lessons go further into the schools, Spur has a Masidlale Coaching Programme for the school coaches. These are run by accredited coaching facilitators who train 30 coaches from four provinces.
Interactive Sport is involved with the mentoring programme which extends to the coaches and one teacher per school.
Masidlale means “let’s play” in Xhosa. So the programme’s aim is to change lives through play.
For more information about Spur, feel free to visit their website http://www.spur.co.za/
LexisNexis SA cycle challenge raises R130k for anti-trafficking efforts
LexisNexis SA cycle challenge raises R130k for anti-trafficking efforts
[DURBAN, 10 October 2014] – Three anti-trafficking organisations received a total of R130 000 to assist with their daily needs following the inaugural LexisNexis South Africa Cycle Against Trafficking Challenge, held over three days from 29 September to 1 October 2014. The event saw 11 volunteer cyclists, including senior employees and corporate partners, ride more than 200 kilometres from the Drakensberg to Durban to raise funds for Mercy House in Johannesburg, Open Door Crisis Centre in Durban and Molo Songololo in Cape Town.
All three NGOs work to combat the scourge of human trafficking, which is a growing reality in South Africa. LexisNexis South Africa publishes its Human Trafficking Awareness Index which shows the prevalence of trafficking forms such as forced labour, sex trafficking and child commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC).
Concluding the Cycle Against Trafficking Challenge in Durban, LexisNexis SA CEO Billy Last said: “This was our way of raising awareness of the heinous crime called human trafficking, and a fitting way of acknowledging the International Organization for Migration’s Human Trafficking Awareness Week from 3 to 10 October.
"The race finish date also coincided with our annual LN Cares Day, on which our employees volunteer their time and assistance at various anti-trafficking organisations across the country.”
LexisNexis South Africa’s involvement in the field is anchored by a global commitment to helping to uphold the rule of law. In 2012 the company also released South Africa’s first ever Anti-Human Trafficking Legislation Compendium.
For more on the fight against trafficking visit http://www.lexisnexis.co.za/ruleoflaw/
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About the Beneficiaries
Mercy House provides transitional housing for female victims of domestic violence and their children. See www.mercy-house.co.za
The Open Door Crisis Care Centre based in Pinetown, Kwazulu-Natal, is a well-established counselling, training and advisory centre housing an HIV/AIDS clinic, play therapy room for traumatised children, training room, office space and 10 counselling rooms. See www.opendoor.org.za
Molo Songololo has been working to promote the rights and protection of all children for more than 30 years and in 2000 released a pioneering report that put the spotlight on trafficking in children in South Africa for the purposes of sexual exploitation. See www.molosongololo.com
Issued By:
Neliswa Hlombe
Corporate Communications & PR Manager
LexisNexis South Africa
Tel. +27 (0)31 268 3284
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About LexisNexis® Legal & Professional
LexisNexis® Legal & Professional (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-profit organizations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content, to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organizations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. Part of Reed Elsevier, LexisNexis Legal & Professional serves customers in more than 175 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide.
In July 2012, investment firm Tsiya Group, chaired by Fani Titi, acquired a minority interest in LexisNexis® South Africa. Tsiya is a privately owned investment group that was established in 2008 and focuses on acquiring interests in unlisted businesses. The company has a particular interest in the media and information industry and is currently invested in two radio stations, namely Heart FM (which broadcasts in the Western Cape) and Gagasi FM (which broadcasts in KwaZulu Natal).
