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The Group participated as a sponsor of the 2007 Rally to Read project,
involving members of the business community and rural schools in the Eastern
Cape aimed at improving educational facilities and providing AIDS teaching and delivering
reading material to schools. Beneficiary schools in the Butterworth/Willowvale
area received support through the program during the year.
The Group continued its financial support to the East London Childrens
Home and funded school clothing for the children.
A number of casual days for staff were held during the financial year
resulting in funds being raised from employees and Group contributions. The
funds are used to provide financial assistance to charitable causes as part of
the Group’s social responsibility initiatives.
Corporate Social Investment for the year
Community involvement and investment centered on a number of initiatives
driven by both Head Office and the branch division.
At branch level, regions were invited to identify a number of
initiatives that reflected their involvement in their local community ranging
from assistance with food parcels to sporting events. This proved to be very
effective and to bring the business closer to the communities which we serve.
At corporate level, the two main initiatives that were driven during
this period were the “Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day” in May and the
Reach for a Dream Foundation’s Dream Awards in the Eastern Cape.
The Group participated in its second ‘Cell C - Take a Girl Child to
Work’ initiative and hosted learners at workplaces focusing on business
orientation and introducing them to company’s business operations and work life
in a financial services environment.
The ‘Cell C - Take a Girl Child to Work’ day provided an ideal
opportunity to expose learners to not only the corporate environment but also
to expose them to a choice of careers within the financial sector. Learners
were also equipped with practical information on approach interviews, prepare
for the work place and were included in an induction session focusing on
HIV/AIDS and our awareness programme. The initiative proved successful and will remain part of our annual
calendar. The coming year will see learners particularly interested in the
accounting and IT fields hosted for the day.
The Reach for a Dream Foundation’s Dream Awards will again be hosted
during the latter part of the year. The focus for the coming awards will be on
community builders in the Eastern Cape and it is envisaged that nominations
will also be focused on deeper rural communities. This approach will enable the
Group to identify further opportunities for involvement in more remote
communities, with the emphasis on financial literacy.
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