Lending a helping hand this Mandela month

Nelson Mandela said, “There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.” Traditionally individuals and companies would honour Mandela on his birthday by spending 67 minutes serving those less fortunate than themselves.

Covid and the violence currently gripping our country has meant that traditional Mandela Day activities, such as visiting NGOs, is no longer possible; however, the need for assistance is greater than ever.

At Chartered, we launched a give back challenge (#CharteredGiveBack) for July. Staff are encouraged to get involved and make a difference, no matter how big or small.

We identified a few causes that we felt passionate about, and one of them was the homeless. Did you know that it only costs R10 to sponsor a bed for a person at a homeless shelter per night?

Covid has directly impacted many of our staff and clients, and it is during these times that we realise just what heroes our frontline workers are. To say thank you to them, we have been collecting items such as tea, coffee, biscuits, rusks, Energade and energy bars. These items, along with all our leftover client gifts, are being donated to the doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff working in the Covid wards.

Some staff members have decided to donate dry goods which they have delivered to our office using the Checkers sixty60 app. We have partnered with various organisations that will then distribute the food collected to those in need.

Lockdown is the perfect opportunity to clean out cupboards, and One Small Act of Kindness gladly accepts these donations as they help people in need across the board. One Small Act of Kindness also welcomes donations of fresh sandwiches and muffins, which they distribute to the hungry.

The upheaval in our country this past week has brought communities together, and the call to volunteer has been widespread. Hundreds of thousands of South Africans have heeded the call to lend a helping hand. Social media is flooded with opportunities to help rebuild our country, ranging from financial assistance to helping clean up, providing resources to skills sharing. It’s easy to do, all you need to do is fill out a form here stating how you would like to help, and you will be notified of ways in which you can help.

Below are a few more suggestions of how you can safely give back.

If you would like more information on any Chartered Give Back initiatives, please get in touch with Lyndsay. If you have your own give back story that you would like to share with us, please do; we love hearing from you.