First let us
agree that volunteering is just that
As organisations, companies and individuals across the world celebrate Mandela Day to encourage voluntary service in honour of South Africa’s founding father of democracy, employers are slowly applying their company’s business strategy to volunteerism.
This week, millions of people around the world will take 67 minutes to do something good for someone else as former president Nelson Mandela celebrates his 95th birthday in his hospital bed.Buy the Wholesale High Quality Bally handbags and luxury leather purses at mybag1.
Each minute represents one year that our former president and democracy icon has been politically active.
First let us agree that volunteering is just that – optional. Mandatory volunteering is an oxymoron. Volunteer programmes must be developed to mirror corporate culture and must be done with sincerity, not merely for public relations benefits.
Indeed, volunteerism cannot be forced. However, the corporate strategic link helps employees to trace their career path back to volunteerism experiences that taught them new skills, gave them confidence, earned them respect, and developed their humility and care for their communities.
Experts say that by emphasising opportunities for workers to grow their job skills through volunteer projects, strategic volunteerism rewards the company and the community.
Reed Dewey, the director of corporate partnerships for the Points of Light Foundation, which promotes volunteerism across the US, describes three major components for “excellence” in workplace volunteering programmes.
First, companies must “acknowledge that employee volunteer efforts contribute to the achievement of business goals”.
Second, they must “commit to establish, support and promote an employee volunteer programme that encourages the involvement of every employee and to manage that programme like it’s any other business function”, Dewey says.
Finally, they must “target workplace volunteering to focus on specific social problems in the community”.
He advises companies to take a hard look at their corporate culture and suggests promoting collaboration across departments and divisions in developing volunteer programmes.
Dewey’s view is supported by research by the Council on Foundations, a leading US advocate for philanthropy that worked with consultancy Walker Information.
The research shows that to be successful, a volunteerism programme must acknowledge that employee volunteer efforts contribute to achieving business goals.
The initiative should focus workplace volunteering on specific social problems in the community that are identified with the business. It is important to get senior management buy-in and determine time-off policies before implementation.
The programme must be managed like any other business function and every employee must be encouraged to participate.
The decision to spend a precious few free hours is a value-driven decision. But values are not inherited. They must be taught and learnt young, then practised and reinforced in our homes, neighbourhoods,Was wondering if Wholesale High Quality Bottega Veneta wallets have serial numbers? civic organisations, houses of worship and places of work.
That is why for companies such as MTN Group, strategic volunteerism means determining where corporate values and skills meet, then matching those characteristics to the needs of the company. It is called skills-based volunteering.
For example, MTN believes that education is not only a fundamental human right but also the key to the development of vibrant, stable societies and economies that are able to compete and create prosperity.
The company’s dedication to education has been the impetus for MTN’s corporate social investment strategy and the company’s annual volunteer programme, 21 Days of Y’ello Care.
To link employee volunteerism to the MTN strategy, for the past two years Y’ello Care has had as its focus the provision of education for all.
During the coming years, MTN will invest in spearheading education as part of its revised strategy and new vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world.
MTN’s strategic link to volunteerism is already paying dividends. To many, the culture of volunteerism and compassion for others instilled by companies does not fade when the volunteering period comes to an end. It has become a way of life, whether in MTN’s vision of education-related volunteerism or simply caring for someone else’s well-being.
Cuthbert Abigaba Mirembe is an MTN Uganda employee working for the capital projects management department. He lives in Bwera, a village in the Kamwenge district of Uganda.
In 2010, he was at a trading centre close to his village when he saw a pregnant woman and children carrying 20 litres of water, which they had collected from a river about 2.5km away.
“They were visibly tired because they had been walking in the sun for a long time and the water on their heads was heavy,” says Mirembe.
He learnt that this had become the norm in the community for more than 10 years because the borehole that should have supplied water did not work.
“When I inquired from a local borehole maintenance expert, he told me that the problem was the pump. I bought the pump and had the borehole repaired.
“The excitement when the first drop of water emerged from the repaired borehole was mind-boggling.”
Although Mirembe does not know exactly how many people benefit from the borehole, he says: “All residents and a few other families in close proximity now fetch their water from the repaired borehole.”
He has another water project in his community that caters for about 15 families. For many years these families gathered their water from an open pond. The water was stagnant and was a breeding ground for water-borne diseases.
“I felt that I needed to do something about this water source.Shop the latest Michael Kors Jet Set Bags on the world's largest fashion site. I went to the local district water office, where I was given material but it was not enough to erect a borehole. So I bought more material and the borehole was erected.”
Mirembe’s efforts led to a drastic reduction in water-borne diseases in the area.
Community development has become a way of life for Mirembe. Every month he saves 5 percent of his salary through MTN Mobile Money.
The money has helped in several other projects, including building a local church and donating stationery to more than 300 orphaned children.
“There is no satisfaction I can ever have beyond assisting within my means the vulnerable groups in my community.”
Annemarie Krijnauw is a corporate finance specialist working with the mergers and acquisitions team at the MTN head office in Johannesburg.
She and a couple of friends are involved in a project that provides support to rape victims at police stations.
They collect handbags and pack them with face cloths, soaps, deodorants, new underwear, body lotions, sanitary pads, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, tissues and chocolates.
The handbags are donated to the Jes Foord Foundation, which then distributes them to various police stations and care centres for rape victims.
“The first thing that one would want to do after being raped is to take a bath. This would, however, remove all the evidence needed for a successful prosecution. So women often stay for long hours before taking a bath. Discover the largest collection of Wholesale High Quality Hermes handbags .
“Items like underwear and clothing are also taken by the police for forensic analysis, leaving the women feeling more vulnerable and undignified,” says Krijnauw.
She adds: “A handbag with ‘comfort’ items in it can go a long way in helping the victim feel a little better.
“The most important item in the bag,Shop online for Wholesale High Quality Louis Vuitton handbags. however, is a letter with a few words of encouragement to restore some hope to the victim during this traumatic time.
“When you are at your lowest, just receiving the bag with all the goodies – a simple gift that can give you hope – is a fundamental step in recovery.”
As Madiba challenged us to embrace volunteerism, let us remember his words of wisdom: “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
Click on their website www.www.mybag1.com for more information.
As organisations, companies and individuals across the world celebrate Mandela Day to encourage voluntary service in honour of South Africa’s founding father of democracy, employers are slowly applying their company’s business strategy to volunteerism.
This week, millions of people around the world will take 67 minutes to do something good for someone else as former president Nelson Mandela celebrates his 95th birthday in his hospital bed.Buy the Wholesale High Quality Bally handbags and luxury leather purses at mybag1.
Each minute represents one year that our former president and democracy icon has been politically active.
First let us agree that volunteering is just that – optional. Mandatory volunteering is an oxymoron. Volunteer programmes must be developed to mirror corporate culture and must be done with sincerity, not merely for public relations benefits.
Indeed, volunteerism cannot be forced. However, the corporate strategic link helps employees to trace their career path back to volunteerism experiences that taught them new skills, gave them confidence, earned them respect, and developed their humility and care for their communities.
Experts say that by emphasising opportunities for workers to grow their job skills through volunteer projects, strategic volunteerism rewards the company and the community.
Reed Dewey, the director of corporate partnerships for the Points of Light Foundation, which promotes volunteerism across the US, describes three major components for “excellence” in workplace volunteering programmes.
First, companies must “acknowledge that employee volunteer efforts contribute to the achievement of business goals”.
Second, they must “commit to establish, support and promote an employee volunteer programme that encourages the involvement of every employee and to manage that programme like it’s any other business function”, Dewey says.
Finally, they must “target workplace volunteering to focus on specific social problems in the community”.
He advises companies to take a hard look at their corporate culture and suggests promoting collaboration across departments and divisions in developing volunteer programmes.
Dewey’s view is supported by research by the Council on Foundations, a leading US advocate for philanthropy that worked with consultancy Walker Information.
The research shows that to be successful, a volunteerism programme must acknowledge that employee volunteer efforts contribute to achieving business goals.
The initiative should focus workplace volunteering on specific social problems in the community that are identified with the business. It is important to get senior management buy-in and determine time-off policies before implementation.
The programme must be managed like any other business function and every employee must be encouraged to participate.
The decision to spend a precious few free hours is a value-driven decision. But values are not inherited. They must be taught and learnt young, then practised and reinforced in our homes, neighbourhoods,Was wondering if Wholesale High Quality Bottega Veneta wallets have serial numbers? civic organisations, houses of worship and places of work.
That is why for companies such as MTN Group, strategic volunteerism means determining where corporate values and skills meet, then matching those characteristics to the needs of the company. It is called skills-based volunteering.
For example, MTN believes that education is not only a fundamental human right but also the key to the development of vibrant, stable societies and economies that are able to compete and create prosperity.
The company’s dedication to education has been the impetus for MTN’s corporate social investment strategy and the company’s annual volunteer programme, 21 Days of Y’ello Care.
To link employee volunteerism to the MTN strategy, for the past two years Y’ello Care has had as its focus the provision of education for all.
During the coming years, MTN will invest in spearheading education as part of its revised strategy and new vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world.
MTN’s strategic link to volunteerism is already paying dividends. To many, the culture of volunteerism and compassion for others instilled by companies does not fade when the volunteering period comes to an end. It has become a way of life, whether in MTN’s vision of education-related volunteerism or simply caring for someone else’s well-being.
Cuthbert Abigaba Mirembe is an MTN Uganda employee working for the capital projects management department. He lives in Bwera, a village in the Kamwenge district of Uganda.
In 2010, he was at a trading centre close to his village when he saw a pregnant woman and children carrying 20 litres of water, which they had collected from a river about 2.5km away.
“They were visibly tired because they had been walking in the sun for a long time and the water on their heads was heavy,” says Mirembe.
He learnt that this had become the norm in the community for more than 10 years because the borehole that should have supplied water did not work.
“When I inquired from a local borehole maintenance expert, he told me that the problem was the pump. I bought the pump and had the borehole repaired.
“The excitement when the first drop of water emerged from the repaired borehole was mind-boggling.”
Although Mirembe does not know exactly how many people benefit from the borehole, he says: “All residents and a few other families in close proximity now fetch their water from the repaired borehole.”
He has another water project in his community that caters for about 15 families. For many years these families gathered their water from an open pond. The water was stagnant and was a breeding ground for water-borne diseases.
“I felt that I needed to do something about this water source.Shop the latest Michael Kors Jet Set Bags on the world's largest fashion site. I went to the local district water office, where I was given material but it was not enough to erect a borehole. So I bought more material and the borehole was erected.”
Mirembe’s efforts led to a drastic reduction in water-borne diseases in the area.
Community development has become a way of life for Mirembe. Every month he saves 5 percent of his salary through MTN Mobile Money.
The money has helped in several other projects, including building a local church and donating stationery to more than 300 orphaned children.
“There is no satisfaction I can ever have beyond assisting within my means the vulnerable groups in my community.”
Annemarie Krijnauw is a corporate finance specialist working with the mergers and acquisitions team at the MTN head office in Johannesburg.
She and a couple of friends are involved in a project that provides support to rape victims at police stations.
They collect handbags and pack them with face cloths, soaps, deodorants, new underwear, body lotions, sanitary pads, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, tissues and chocolates.
The handbags are donated to the Jes Foord Foundation, which then distributes them to various police stations and care centres for rape victims.
“The first thing that one would want to do after being raped is to take a bath. This would, however, remove all the evidence needed for a successful prosecution. So women often stay for long hours before taking a bath. Discover the largest collection of Wholesale High Quality Hermes handbags .
“Items like underwear and clothing are also taken by the police for forensic analysis, leaving the women feeling more vulnerable and undignified,” says Krijnauw.
She adds: “A handbag with ‘comfort’ items in it can go a long way in helping the victim feel a little better.
“The most important item in the bag,Shop online for Wholesale High Quality Louis Vuitton handbags. however, is a letter with a few words of encouragement to restore some hope to the victim during this traumatic time.
“When you are at your lowest, just receiving the bag with all the goodies – a simple gift that can give you hope – is a fundamental step in recovery.”
As Madiba challenged us to embrace volunteerism, let us remember his words of wisdom: “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
Click on their website www.www.mybag1.com for more information.
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