A few weeks ago, I received a very intriguing email from one of my favorite PR managers over at Cadbury. They had arranged an internal initiative to give back to communities in both Johannesburg and Cape Town and invited me along. A few of us traveled to the local shelters in & around Cape Town to provide warm meals, clothing and blankets to those in need. This was all part of their 'giving back much, much more' social responsibility initiative.
The various shelters
included young adult and pensioners from the
Haven Napier, District Six, Haven Old Age Home, Moira Henderson,
Kensington, Belville and Haven Paarl. “On
arrival, everyone was excited to see the Lunch Bar team ready to lend a
hand. This was such a humbling project for us and as a team we do our
best to try make a difference in our community”
said Hayley Van Scott, Mondelez Brand Manager: Chocolate Bars.
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| Photo Warren Rasmussen |
“We
would really like to thank Cadbury Lunch Bar and Primedia Outdoor for
bringing so many smiles to the Haven. Winter is the hardest time for us
as we always receive an influx of people
from around the city, so we really appreciate SA’s best chocolate brand
getting involved and being so committed to this”
Press release vibes aside, and on a personal note: I need to say this: I have been working in PR and authoring a blog for over seven years. I have taken part in many charity initiatives by brands and I have not experienced anything like this. Nobody was financially incentiviced to be there and everyone really got involved. Everyone stopped to talk and engage with the residents. I saw the PR and marketing team sit on the beds with the elderly where they opened up to us and gave us pockets of wisdom. We didn't have a lot of stock available, but I saw Cadbury team members hand out many extras and do a lot of favors while the cameras weren't around. One such example was for a man didn't want his blanket and chocolate as he wanted to keep them for his daughter in case she came to visit him, which he hoped she would.
Many of the Haven residents were in frail care, lonely or ill. The Haven in Woodstock for the elderly reached in to every chamber of my heart. There are about 130 residents, and a waiting list. The hostel is managed by a social worker and the residents are usually picked up off the streets or are received from other social workers, clinics and other institutions. They sleep two in a room, 8 in a ward. Their room consists of a single bed each and small locker cabinet to contain all their possessions. There are different sections for men, a floor for women and a section for frail care. This is a larger open hall with about 20 beds spaced about 1 meter apart in rows. Here they have a central television and a small team of care givers and training nurses assisting them with their daily hygiene, medication and feeding.
Many of the Haven residents were in frail care, lonely or ill. The Haven in Woodstock for the elderly reached in to every chamber of my heart. There are about 130 residents, and a waiting list. The hostel is managed by a social worker and the residents are usually picked up off the streets or are received from other social workers, clinics and other institutions. They sleep two in a room, 8 in a ward. Their room consists of a single bed each and small locker cabinet to contain all their possessions. There are different sections for men, a floor for women and a section for frail care. This is a larger open hall with about 20 beds spaced about 1 meter apart in rows. Here they have a central television and a small team of care givers and training nurses assisting them with their daily hygiene, medication and feeding.
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| Photo Warren Rasmussen |
We've had the conversation somewhere in this blog that I used to work in an old age home as a caregiver. Some of our elderly folk don't have great memories, as you know. They don't always remember if they bathed that day and if they did, they might not recall if they'd washed everywhere or they might need assistance with moving around or need to be sponge bathed. For instance, they might just wash their left arm for a month and not consider the right one at all. They need help with taking their medication, remembering to eat, taking in lots of liquids or assistance with going to the loo or moving around. I am very fond of older people.
The thing is, the residents at these shelters mostly don't have family or their families can't provide care for them. They don't have companions, resources, financial aid or support of any kind. The SA Government provides R1200 per month for our residents that are over 60 years old. This is called an Old Age Grant. How this Haven works it out (I was very nosy with the social worker) is that the room and boarding per resident is around R800 per month. They also provide old clothes and blankets that they receive via charity and donations. Then they work it out that meals for the month is about R300 per resident. That's R10 a day for food guys, and it's nothing fancy but they try to make it work. Hopefully each resident then has about R100 spare a month for toiletries, treats, entertainment, books or other necessities. When they are ill, they go to the nearest government hospital for treatment.
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| Photo Warren Rasmussen |
Cape Town: You have the addresses. Scratch around your home amongst your worldly possessions and just create one box. The ladies are so proud and their rooms are so stark - I was fantasizing about how a beautiful vase, piece of artwork, books, girly magazines, indoor plants, a nice carpet, throws, an old couch would brighten up their rooms. Some of the wards only have stools, no couches in the 'entertainment' or communal areas. They need clothes, blankets, towels, beautiful things, financial donations, a pack of cards, a box of cookies - anything. Mostly I would also say that they need toiletries. Medical supplies. You can look up and phone any of the shelters listed below and inquire on their specific needs. You can ask your employer to donate some budget toward these shelters for supplies and go hang out there a little bit.
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| Photo Warren Rasmussen |
Cadbury did such a great job on this and it was all internal and not for promotional purposes. They handed out the meals they provided themselves, they interacted with everyone they met and they were kind, generous and considerate with both their time and resources. I think I was the only 'media' person in attendance as this wasn't for media at all and that sort of makes you love the initiative even more.
Photos by the ever-awesome and talented Warren Rasmussen who also got involved & did a great job at grabbing our attention to capture great moments.
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| The beautiful & passionate mastermind behind these great initiatives - Seishane |
If you'd like more details on the Cape Town shelters we visited, with their addresses, you can contact these guys below. Thank you to Cadbury Lunch Bar for inviting me to this very special day. We met amazing people and brought a lot of cheer, warmth and deliciousness where it matters most. Keep up this amazing work, I'm a huge fan!
