At the ceremony held late last month, staff volunteers were commended for, above all else, kindness and dedication, for donating their time and money to worthy causes. Platinum winners included Given Segole, Misiwe Ntshangase, July Mashego, Moses Matlawe and Bronson Weir. The company’s Mass Foundation Cluster was the winner of the most extraordinary business unit, and the Free State Provincial Management Board walked away with the most extraordinary provincial management board.

Honouring employees

“The awards recognise the sterling service demonstrated in our communities, by honouring employees who have made a powerful impact on the lives of those far less fortunate. Old Mutual is made up of great people who truly believe they can make great things happen. Each year we seem to set higher benchmarks and we are immensely proud of every member of our organisation who has demonstrated their generosity,” said head of Old Mutual Foundation, Millicent Maroga.

With three volunteerism programmes available to the company’s staff, namely ‘Staff Community Builder’, ‘Care & Share’ and ‘Payroll Giving’, the programmes are varied and appeal to different individuals.

Staff Community Builder

The Staff Community Builder programme has supported over 3,500 grassroots community projects since inception in 1993. “An incredible R53m has been invested over the past 23 years,” added Maroga.

Care & Share programme

Through the Care & Share programme, the company encourages employees to support community projects by offering all staff one day’s social responsibility leave to get involved in various activities. These include planting vegetable gardens, removing alien vegetation, cleaning rivers, building low-cost housing; spending time caring for HIV-positive babies, or nurturing animals in distress. “Behind all of these activities are volunteers with big hearts and the result is a positive social impact, and strong ties with the broader community,” said Maroga.

Payroll Giving

Lastly, staff can also choose to make voluntary monthly donations from their salary through the Payroll Giving programme. These contributions are channelled to organisations which specialise in the care of HIV orphans, the elderly and terminally ill, and those that help animals in distress. Every staff donation is matched rand-for-rand by Old Mutual. “Collectively we have raised over R27m through this programme since its inception in 2002. We are continuously surprised by the generosity of our people who live the spirit of Ubuntu every day,” said Maroga.

Winners who were recognised at this year’s Staff Volunteerism Awards include:

• Given Segole for Protector of the Vulnerable
• Misiwe Ntshangase & team for Care & Share Team award
• July Mashego for Most Extraordinary Staff Volunteer Energiser
• Moses Matlawe for Most Extraordinary Manager (supporting staff volunteerism)
• Bronson Weir for CEO’s Volunteerism Award

“I can only commend all of our finalists in each category who continue to demonstrate that giving of themselves touches lives and creates a better world,” concludes Maroga.

For more information, go to www.dogreatthings.co.za.