Rob Davies
The global trend in corporates over the past two decades has been the involvement of staff in volunteer programmes aimed at community development.
While overseas companies have long since paved the way, many South African companies have been slow to invest capital or staff in programmes such as these.
Since 1998 Old Mutual has been turning its resources towards community development not only through funding and donations, but by using the skills of employees living and working in or alongside developing communities.
The Old Mutual staff community builder programme (SCB) was launched in 1993 to assist staff who approached the company for financial assistance for community projects they were involved in.
While there were some initial growing pains the SCB currently supports between 80 and 90 projects a year.
Funding for these projects started out at around R200 000 a year, and has escalated to around R1,5-million, with Old Mutual projecting a further increase of R500 000 by next year.
The SCB follows a format in which staff are tied to their chosen project for a minimum of a year. In some cases, the number of projects initiated per province has been included in performance appraisals of line managers.
Sandy Fouch, project manager of the SCB, explains: ”Staff volunteer their personal time to the project, and in an attempt to encourage staff to apply for a project, each application is evaluated individually.”
Once they are involved in a community initiative, staff can apply for assistance from Old Mutual. If the project and staff member’s involvement meet the programme criteria, the next phase, a personal visit to the project, is entered into. Once the project has been assessed and found workable a donation is made.
Staff must also submit biannual progress reports to the SCB project manager these reports are used to measure the impact of each project on the community.
Apart from donations to charities, the SCB also supports, among others, health and welfare projects, special-needs education, hospices, elderly care and youth development.
”Apart from the SCB programme, there are other ways in which employees can involve themselves in community programmes. Old Mutual is considering expanding the SCB and is looking at introducing three possible initiatives,” says Fouch.
One of these is the staff charity fund. Staff can volunteer to donate an amount of their pay cheque to charity.
”In some cases the company will match employee donation on a rand-for-rand basis. Another initiative currently being considered is the adopt-an -orphan programme. Staff will be encouraged to donate R50 of their salaries towards the care of an HIV/Aids orphan with Old Mutual matching the amount,” says Fouch.
In some cases staff choose projects out of frustration because of the lack of existing support mechanisms, especially where traumatised adults or children are concerned.
For example, an Old Mutual staff member was shocked by the following incident. On December 11 last year a desperate Pumla Lolwana (35) threw herself and her three children in front of a train near Philippi on the Cape Flats. They all died instantly.
The staff member had heard that some children from the Samora Machel informal settlement, where the family lived, had tried to stop the suicide.
”These children were found with the help of community members and with assistance from the SCB programme under-went counselling at the Woodstock Trauma Centre,” says Fouch.
Another success story is the formation of a counselling centre in Manenberg.
”The project was started by a mother whose daughter had fallen pregnant and had experienced first-hand the difference that proper counselling can make.”
She decided to give the same service to the community, and today the project serves about 120 people who receive monthly telephonic or face-to-face counselling.
Says Fouch: ”She believed she could do something: all she needed was that leap of faith.”