GreaterGood South Africa

Volunteers do 15 years for SA
Tuesday, October 6th 2009

On Friday the 18th of September, 3,862 ordinary South Africans joined hands to paint, plant, clean, read, teach, share and empower their communities on 217 projects across the country, contributing a staggering 30,896 volunteer hours or over 15 years of time combined.

You are making the difference

A group of volunteers visited the 'Yesu i hosi' Projects Rehabilitation Centre located in Croquetlawn Village in Bushbuckridge South. The group included a local doctor who examined the sick and elderly free of charge and screened three of the patients who will be the recipients of wheelchairs next week. The volunteers got to work preparing people for an outing to the local church where they enjoyed a meal arranged by another group of volunteers.

Project leader, Creseldah Ndlovu, shares her experience: "I thank God for this Do It Day, which will be part of our history forever. After we served the meal and were about to leave the church, the patients just cried. It was very touching I must say. God bless you for this idea. You are making the difference."

A fresh coat of paint

The Phuthaditschaba Primary School in Attridgeville received a much-needed makeover when all their classrooms were freshly painted thanks to a passionate team from Do It Day sponsors, Old Mutual. Staff volunteers, Lebogang Mokgoshi and Sandhiya Naicker testified to the rewarding results: "We had a fulfilling experience and were overwhelmed with all the work that went into the project. We both recommend that the rest of our colleagues, participate next year."

Sowing the seeds

A collaboration between Momentum staff volunteers and non-profit organisation, Soil for Life, resulted in the establishment of a community garden nursery at the Sinebongo community garden in Langa. The group of ten willing and zealous staff got their hands dirty by digging trenches, planting seeds and mulching soil.

Many of the Momentum staff reported that they were looking forward to going back to the garden in a few months time to see what seeds had grown and also to continue their support. Some others commented on the tangible, infectious and inspirational community spirit that abounded on this special Friday.

Proudly Manenberg

In Manenberg, a predominately working class community on the Cape Flats, Old Mutual joined hands with 'Proudly Manenberg' in implementing a turnaround strategy of building a vibrant, proud and dignified community through the creation of a Waterfront for community recreation and conservation. Over two hundred community and visitor volunteers spent the day laying the foundations for an Arts and Culture centre, building a parking lot, creating gardens and levelling the area to build a beach soccer and volleyball pitch.

Project Leader, Mario Wanza, shared his gratitude: "We thank everyone for their contributions and volunteerism. United, sharing ideas and experience and with a common purpose we can do great things!"

Captains of industry

Business heavyweights across South Africa championed the cause of volunteering by getting professionally – and personally – involved in Do It Day. The Old Mutual and Nedbank Foundations demonstrated their commitment to volunteerism by teaming up to sponsor this year's Do It Day campaign.

Head of the Old Mutual Foundation, Andile Ncontsa, who has been instrumental in raising awareness around volunteerism, believes that volunteerism is Ubuntu in action: "We can harness this spirit to address our current challenges to rebuild communities and to re-engage citizens so that we all feel a shared responsibility for building a shared prosperity for all."

Nedbank's Sakkie'Neil agrees: "Volunteering makes us aware that there are people that are less fortunate than ourselves and we do not need money to make a difference in someone’s life. It promotes the culture of Ubuntu."

Corporate support helped to boost take-up of volunteers and make sure this Do It Day was the biggest and most successful yet. Other companies that deployed their volunteer energy into communities included: Aon Benfield, City Lodge, Comair, FirstRand, Media 24, Mr. Price Foundation, AVI, Estee Lauder, Halls, Pick n Pay, McDonalds, Synovate, Standard Bank, On the Dot, Cape Media, The Vineyard Hotel, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Consumer Goods Company S.A., Accpac, ooba, Flight Centre and Barnard Jacobs Mellet.

Support from the media and pro bono partners helped raise the profile of the day and recruit more volunteers than ever before.

Imagine the potential

If almost 4,000 volunteers managed to touch so many lives in one inspiring day, imagine what 20,000 people could achieve or 50,000 or 5 million. This is just the beginning. GreaterGood South Africa is already planning for Do It Day 2010, a significant day in a significant year for the country.

View reportbacks from Do It Day projects on the Do It Day website

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