To kick off Mandela Day 2016, manufacturer of household goods SC Johnson (SCJ) has provided 1 120 pairs of new school shoes to Lethabong Secondary School.
Known as the Shoes for Champs initiative, this will become an annual SCJ employee volunteerism initiative that will see shoes distributed to schools in May every year ahead of winter.
The objective of this project is to give children the dignity and pride of owning a pair of high-quality school shoes, to relieve parents of the financial burden of buying school shoes, and, most importantly, to improve the kids’ self-esteem and help them fit in with their peers by eliminating one of poverty’s most visible and debilitating marks.
The employee volunteer programme activities were divided into two sessions.
On 13 May, 62 of SCJ’s 72 staff members pulled up their sleeves and packed 1 120 pairs of shoes and shoe polish into Kiwi-branded bags for the learners of Lethabong Secondary School in Soshanguve.
The shoes were then delivered to the school on 18 May 2016.
On 20 May 2016, volunteers from our factory in Rosslyn were transported to the school to distribute the shoes, erect a vegetable tunnel and plant vegetables.
SCJ's HR Manager Thabiso Sehunoe said, "The company is committed to making a difference in the lives of communities in which we operate in. Our campaigns demonstrate our relentless efforts. Through our Mr Muscle program, we will soon also install a state of the art science laboratory at the school.”
SCJ started a vegetable tunnel project at the school in order to educate learners about environmental lessons and at the same time donates vegetables to their feeding scheme. Maphefo Malope, a principal of the school, saluted the partnership.
“We are excited to partner with SC Johnson. They have truly shown a commitment to our learners and the school. They are impoverished and this company’s support certainly benefits them. Lethabong Senior Secondary is a no-fees paying school. All learners at the school accepted the shoes and Kiwi polish,” she added.
Laura Moeletsi, a Circuit Two Team Manager at the TN District, also encouraged the school and the company to forge ahead with this fruitful affiliation.