IT TAKES 67 MINUTES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Category General News
Sixty-seven minutes to make a change, no matter how big or small the action...but leading up to the 67 minutes, the staff across all branches of Wakefields have been working for weeks towards this. The hearts of the teams in all corners of Kwazulu Natal were absolutely in the right places as they threw themselves into a host of activities designed to bring a broad smile - even a happy bark - to a wide range of initiatives. From sandwiches to soup, dog food to a donation of time, take a look at how the staff rolled up their sleeves to brighten the worlds of those less fortunate, in their immediate communities.
All the staff concurred, on Mandela Day, these 67 minutes honour Madiba and what he stood for...but as Graca Machel said, 'Look at Mandela Day as a way of being, not an event'. That's the #WakefieldsWay - caring and being involved in the community in which you work.
WAKEFIELDS HEAD OFFICE supported the iCare initiative, which works tirelessly to transform the lives of street children. The iCare team works with each individual child, and their Drop-In Centre, Rehabilitation Centre, and three houses are a hive of activity. ICare's list of items needed for families on their After Care programme, galvanised every member of the Head Office staff into contributing to the pile of goodies - from tinned foods to maize meal, flour to oil - and that heap grew substantially as the day wore on.
MALVERN invited all Malvern Park security staff and car guards to a slap-up lunch of hot dogs and cold drinks in the upper parking level. It was a joyful occasion, and the givers and receivers all felt the happiness!
AMANZIMTOTI branch challenged all their attorneys, conveyancers and indeed, the local 'Toti community, to assist with the collection of dog/cat food for their SPCA. The staff spent their time cajoling, collecting and delivering all the donations to the SPCA which is so much in need. The attorneys who contributed were AMS Attorneys, Barkers, Maryke Prinsloo Attorneys, McNaught & Co, and Meumann White - their generous donations were so appreciated.
WESTVILLE team made dozens of sandwiches for the unemployed who wait day in and day out, hoping for offers of casual or permanent work. The Wakefields team also invited everybody in the area to donate time, money, breads or spreads to the cause, so that this became a full community effort.
DURBAN NORTH, GATEWAY AND UMHLANGA branches decided there was power in numbers, and joined forces with the Grace Missions program at Grace Church in Umhlanga. The sea of Wakefields staff in their distinctive yellow, white and grey t-shirts spent their 67 minutes packing toiletries, donating blood, making thousands of sandwiches, packing seedlings, cupcake decorating, rolling yarn and assembling activity packs. The charities that benefited were Isinkwa Setheku, Key of Hope, Sinakekele Children, iCare, Crossroads, and Summerhill House.
HILLCREST donated funds to supply the Hillcrest Government Hospital with 160 cupcakes for the patient's afternoon tea, a heavy duty Kenwood Food Mixer and various baking ingredients to be used in the Occupational Therapy Department. The staff were there in force, cakes and all.
BALLITO pledged R2 250 towards ingredients for a lunch that Tongaat Child Welfare prepared for the underprivileged learners at Saraswathi Primary School in Tongaat. The Ballito team were in action at the school assisting Child Welfare from 10am 'til late, and the staff - and PME Attorneys - reports a great festive atmosphere - learners and educators were dressed in traditional gear and the spirit of Madiba was alive.
PIETERMARITZBURG supports Thandi House in their City, an organisation which cares for a variety of children in need, from abandoned babies to physically disabled or terminally ill children. Thandi House receives no funding other than that provided by the kindness of people and businesses such as Wakefields. All 16 agents collected and donated items the House states as 'urgent needs', and delivered them to Thandi House.
CHATSWORTH put their time and energy into providing a meal. They created the Wakefields Chatsworth Cares Corner just outside their office, and fed everybody in need, from car guards and street children, to the homeless. They plan to make this a quarterly event, and will earmark local causes to support each time.
Author: Anne Schauffer
