Employee volunteering has evolved from “once-off charity days” to structured programmes that create lasting community impact. One of the projects I supported was a release for FirstRand’s Beyond Painting Classrooms initiative, where leading South African corporates explored how to shift their social investment strategies using the Asset-Based Citizen-led Development (ABCD) approach. This piece not only positioned the initiative as innovative but also showcased how corporate volunteering can be reimagined to drive long-term sustainability.
The Press Release:
SA CORPORATES SHIFT EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERING STRATEGY FOR LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY
Johannesburg, 28 May 2018 – To create truly empowered and successful corporate employee volunteering programmes that create influence and impact within the communities they are deployed, several South African corporates are collaborating with and engaging their employees, using the ABCD approach, which allows them to act as facilitators and foster community ownership of initiatives that ultimately translates into long-term sustainability.
This paradigm shift was highlighted at the FirstRand Beyond Painting Classrooms (BPC) workshop held for corporates and NGOs to take them through a short introductory Masterclass of the Asset-Based Citizen-led Development (ABCD) approach, which focuses on identifying and mobilizing the assets, strengths and gifts already available within communities, and encourages active participation by citizens in their own capacity.
Hosting the event, FirstRand Volunteers Manager Desireé Storey said; “Our aim is to share a new approach to employee volunteering that shifts from a needs-based, problem-solving approach to one that uses the existing strengths and capacities of communities as the starting point for social investment engagement, policies and practises. Through BPC, FirstRand is committed to forming collaborations and building systems for action orientated volunteering, participation-learning practise and the strengthening of the corporate communities value-add.”
Facilitating the session, Space4Impact Director Janine Ward said while many organisations might talk about corporate social investment, few rarely do it authentically. “Too often, traditional approaches place professionals in positions of power determining what the community needs are and determining how investment will proceed.
“Through ABCD and other strength-based approaches, the community remains in control and the professionals act as facilitators and we’ve seen the results. Community ownership of initiatives directly translates to sustainability. This is because using the ABCD approach within communities, we can identify concrete opportunities to strengthen collaboration and how those communities can buy into the investment programme.”
Speaking from an NGO perspective, Ikhala Trust’s Ninnette Eliasov said, “As corporate social investment currently stands, the wheels are falling off. Community expectations are not being met and volunteers are not adequately trained. On the ground, we’re seeing dependency entitlement, opportunistic leadership, manipulation and communities unwilling to pitch for corporate media displays as it deteriorates into an ‘us and them’ scenario.
“We find the ABCD approach offers a solid solution as it brings money into communities in a more sensitive and cautious way and builds trust as funding follows positive initiatives. It’s the best way for brands to find authentic relationships for co-investment in training, financial or material support which instead leads to a win-win impact for both parties and at half the budget.”
Representing successful integration with ABCD engagement, LegalWise’s Corporate Social Investment Manager Lesley Haynes said; “Statistically, 1% of employees will willingly participate in corporate social initiatives yet, using the ABCD approach, we have found our employees to be our biggest asset. LegalWise now claims 90% participation for our employee volunteering programmes. It’s no longer about the CSI department trying to convince staff to support social development, it’s about our own colleagues encouraging and involving each other to be there. Working from the inside-out, ABCD has helped us to create authentic relationships within the communities where we work where their existing assets are leveraged and we engage and form partnerships with the stakeholders.”
But, warned Haynes, “Implementing ABCD is tough, you need patience, and you need to allow communities to lead their own development, which can be hard for corporates as we think we know everything.”
Administering corporate social investment initiatives, CAF Southern Africa’s Judith Mtsewu, made a plea to support the BPC platform by inviting more corporates into the discussion so as to build momentum around the Asset-based Community-led Development approach. “It is only once there is momentum around it, that it can become a ‘lived’ approach in employee volunteering and CSI.”
ABOUT:
The Beyond Painting Classrooms initiative was established by FirstRand in 2012 with the support of Charities Aid Foundation South Africa (CAFSA). CAF Southern Africa (CAFSA) is an NGO which promotes philanthropy, volunteering and corporate social investment in South Africa. Beyond Painting Classrooms provides opportunities for people passionate about corporate employee volunteering to learn about good practices in the field, share success stories, discuss challenges and build knowledge collectively through critical and respectful engagement.
CONTACT: FirstRand Volunteers Programme, 2nd Floor, 4 Merchant Place, Corner Fredman Drive and Rivonia Road, Sandton, 2196. T +27 11 282 1773 F +27 11 384 3450
Email : beyondpaintingclassrooms@firstrand.co.za
Results & Impact
The release was distributed across national business and NGO news channels, securing coverage in multiple CSR and corporate investment forums.
It positioned FirstRand as a thought leader in sustainable employee volunteering.
It generated further conversations among corporates around ABCD and long-term social impact models.
Crafting press releases like this demonstrates the power of clear messaging in sparking conversation and shifting perception. If your organisation is looking to reposition its corporate responsibility strategy or needs support in shaping narratives that resonate with both media and stakeholders, I’d love to explore how we can collaborate.
Incentive professionals understand the importance of rewarding employees in order to drive productivity.
It is also their responsibility and challenge to find the most rewarding destination with which to motivate and excite incentive participants – one that provides the best activities, adventures and amazement which will motivate and drive participants to achieve heightened success.
Long haul destinations offer the promise of the exotic but it can be challenging for incentive professionals to fully understand how to get the most out of the destination when they are situated on the other side of the globe.
This is why working on the ground with a destination management consultant (DMC) of that particular country as well as the local operators on the ground, is so important.
Incentive Travel Tips only Experience can Deliver
South Africa is renowned for its encompassing beauty, natural reserves, world-class wines and safari adventure travel, together with a world-class luxury lifestyle along its vast coastline from its position on the tip of Africa.
What many foreign incentive operators don’t realise is that South Africa is a very large country and all too often lengthly and costly travel logistics can impact both incentive itineraries and client budgets.
Almost every incentive travel group to South Africa looks for the reward of a Big 5 wildlife experience and their first port of call is the world-famous Kruger National Park. However, many factors come into play here which are often not available at first glance to booking agents.
Firstly, moving large groups to and through the Kruger National Park is a challenge and along with the park’s other 1.5 million annual visitors, it is not a high-end luxury incentive activity.
The more upmarket private reserves which edge the park, such as Sabi Sands and the Timbavati region offer an equally thrilling wildlife experience but do not have the scale of accommodation facilities to host big incentive groups, so they focus on catering solely to the free independent tourist (FIT) market.
How to Travel on an Incentive into the Kruger National Park
Getting your group to the Kruger is your next challenge.
Landing at OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng Province, the park is a five hour drive by car and longer by luxury bus. Alternatively, groups can fly into Hoedspruit and the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, which then requires another hours’ drive to reach the Park’s Numbi Gate.
Traveling such distances often requires splitting the group and using costly alternative travel logistics can open up room for error. For the travelers themselves, the journey can turn into one long, hot and boring day… not something one wants to put ‘winners’ through.
Unless of course, they are arriving to something truly spectacular and inaccessible to anyone else.
Bespoke Safari Incentive Offerings
Hayward’s Grand Safari Company, the 2019 Winner of the Best Safari Experience in Africa at the Safari Awards this year, offers a bespoke Kruger National Park Grand Safari experience and is the first private safari operator to be allowed access to this South African wildlife treasure.
Transported to untouched wildlife regions within the 19 485 km² park where there are no public access roads or hotel or ablution buildings, or other tourists in sight, guests are hosted in 5-star luxury tented accommodation which caters to up to 200 people on pristine Park land that has not been touched by a human foot before.
Dedicated game rangers protect, teach and guide groups towards some of the most breathtaking and awe-inspiring nature experiences during the day while at night they are wooed by the night sky and entertained by the best chefs, butlers, cigar aficionados, story-tellers, spa specialists and cultural entertainers in Africa.
Immersed in pure natural environments for a week, guests emerge from a world-class luxury safari that is stained indelibly on their memory.
Setting a bespoke 5-star safari camp up in the Kruger National Park can be costly however, for those wanting to spend a shorter time engaging with the country’s wildlife and safari experience, there is something as equally inspiring and closer to ‘home’, or rather closer to Gauteng’s international airport.
Bringing the Kruger Incentive Experience to Johannesburg’s Doorstep
South African Tourism is behind the marketing of the all new Dinokeng Big 5 game reserve in Tshwane, just one hours’ drive from OR Tambo International Airport and one which offers a wildlife experience on a par with the Kruger National Park when it comes to immersing and engaging with South Africa’s natural heritage.
Adjacent to Hayward’s Grand Safari Company Headquarters in Boekenhoutskloof, this Big 5 reserve is also close to the diamond mining town of Cullinan and the Wonderboom Airport which offers direct transfers to South Africa’s second most visited destination, Cape Town, South Africa’s lifestyle and wine-drinking destination of choice.
Here, in Dinokeng, delegates are served an equitable safari experience on a par with the Kruger National Park but where incentive operators have more opportunity to spend travel logisitic costs on activities and entertainment to inspire and woo the group.
These include transfers by Rovos Rail, Diamond Incentive events, cultural entertainment and artisans such as the Ndebele King’s own traditional dancers and the five star services of classical pianists, hot air balloon sky safaris, wine and whiskey tastings and bespoke staged events right in its Big 5 safari camp each and every evening.
To discuss your next Grand Safari big group incentive trip, contact Top Woman in Mice and Hayward’s Safaris’ Production Director Celia du Preez on (South Africa) Tel: 0861 732 583 (International) Tel: +27 12 808 0442.
My dinner date at BOCCA, the Italian word for ‘mouth’ taught me two things: don’t be late for a date with a German, and BOCCA proprietors Guido and Adnana Brambilla mean to tantalise every single one of the 10,000 taste buds in your mouth.
Find BOCCA at the junction of Bree and Wale street in Cape Town’s trendy CBD just a short stroll up from the V&A Waterfront to share in romantic sunset dinners, family-gathering celebrations, or if you are one of the city’s many singular tech-head imports needing a shot of divine sustenance during one of your coding marathons… we saw all three varieties of patrons there on its split-level interior where the focus is firmly on fine food creation rather than just fancy interiors.
CELEBRATE WITH TASTE
Once you’ve dived into your first urban Italian cuisine experience offered up by maestro chef Guido, you will be loudly joining the buzzing fray as people revel in its flavour sensations offered up in a snappy array of sublime food, conversation and laughter.
BOCCA has an Italian calling for inspiring a food celebration, as only the Italians know how, delivered to your private table. It’s a recipe for never leaving and always returning. As petite hostess Adnana says, “You can come by yourself and sit at the counter for a glass of wine and a few small plates or arrive as a group and experience a selection of dishes. It’s really a place for people to connect over food.”
MENU MOZZAFIATO
There by invitation of a local foodie friend, my dinner partner and I were served a special BOCCA chef’s table, with each dish accompanied by detailed explanations from master chef Guido, so I benefited from an Italian lesson in the finer details of the variety and preparation of our particular dishes.
Putting his new menu into context, Guido says: “It’s all about uncomplicated Italian flavours, the kind you would enjoy if you were invited for dinner in an Italian household.”
We felt right at home at BOCCA with both of us delighting in each dishes unique sampling.
Guido and Adnana are particularly intent on sourcing the best local ingredients for their menu at BOCCA, adding their Italian flair to locally sourced South African products which they acknowledge as being of top-notch quality.
The local Stracciatella with roasted cherry tomatoes and confit eggplant was a first for me and I nearly swooned. Rich, creamy and almost the consistency of thick yoghurt, I was in heaven. The Polpo of Atlantic octopus with potatoes and basil pesto – a classic Mediterranean-inspired BOCCA dish was as breath-taking.
The star of the show for me however was the Polpettine; interesting for someone who ricochets between thoughts of turning vegetarian and eating all the crackling off the roast pork. Polpettine is a finely ground meatball of beef, pork and lamb to be dipped into a fresh ‘mayo verde’. Each bite is a series of new tastes unfolding one on top of the other and I couldn’t stop going back for more, nicking more than my fair share of it.
Before the arrival of the Brambilla’s, BOCCA was famous for its pizza and nothing has changed. With their imported Acunto oven – which cooks pizzas in 90 seconds, at temperatures topping 450°F – the dough sees a process of slow fermentation before being thrown by hand and pushed into its fiery heat.
The latest member of the BOCCA pizza family is their little PIZZETTE which is rolled smaller – about 16cm across – than a traditional pizza, and which means you can enjoy your favourite pizza flavours while still having space to try a variety of other new dishes served at the table.
We shared the Amatriciana with smoked cheeks of pork and pecorino on a puffy yet crisp base which was so ridiculously delicious it’s hard to view it as mere pizza – at least the takeaway sort of pizza I have previously come to know.
DOLCE ENDINGS
Not being a sweet tooth, I decided to forgo dessert for another glass of Sauvignon Blanc complements of Cape Town’s accessible Uber services but my dinner partner absolutely raved about the Tiramisu with Mascarpone Cream, declaring it the best he has ever tasted; high praise indeed with my own odious time-keeping long forgotten after a bacchanal of such fine fare.
Even as the happy last patron leaves BOCCA and midnight prepares to settle over the city, Guido is setting the next day’s fare in motion, placing his larger cuts of beef, lamb, poultry and port into the heat of the pizza oven for gentle slow roasting in preparation to start another staple Italian day in the kitchen.
Expect the menu of this upscale eatery to change four times a year as Guido works the South African seasons with his own brand of passion, dedication and hands-on approach extended with authentic Italian hospitality for every and all types of diners through their welcoming BOCCA doorway. It’s a guaranteed to be mouth-watering with the perfect selection of small plates ideal for sharing.
BOCCA is open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday from noon until 22h00 with last orders are taken at 21h30. Visit their website at https://bocca.co.za/.
Connect with Guido and Adnana Brambilla’s BOCCA on social media via @BoccaCT on Twitter; @boccaCT on Facebook; and bocca_ct on Instagram
Firehorse Media is a South African communications and PR consultancy owned and managed by Mercedes Westbrook, whose career as a journalist, editor, managing editor and communications consultant spans 22 years experience in the print and digital industry. Email her on mercedes@firehorsemedia.co.za or C:+27 789707633.
Caption: mage: (L-R) Representing Hayward’s Grand Safari Company on the night and seen here receiving the award is publicist Mercédes Westbrook of Firehorse Media with Michela Balpiaz, owner of Ayama Wines and wine sponsor of the evening, together with celebrity emcees Josie Eveleigh and Tracey Lange.
Cape Town – At the 3rd Sanlam Top Destination Awards 2017 which honours key players in SA Tourism and Hospitality, Hayward’s Grand Safari Company has been named the Winner in the Five-star Lodge category across southern Africa.
The Sanlam Top Destination Awards was hosted at the Kelvin Grove Club in Cape Town. 35 winners from 9600 nominees walked away with the sought after title of ‘Top Destination’ in their respective categories and star grading.
Hayward’s Grand Safari Company provides private groups of 40 to 200 VIP guests with an authentic 5-star mobile tented safari camp experience in pristine wilderness reserves across the African continent. Each luxury camp guarantees corporate and celebrity clients’ total event exclusivity and superior guest comfort.
Rated as the only 5-star mobile Safari in Africa, hosts Peter Hayward and Celia du Preez, are appointed by leading multinational blue-chip companies, royal contingents, presidents and renown celebrities alike. Owner Peter Hayward said, “I am absolutely delighted to have received such high accolades from the Sanlam Top Destination Awards.
Image: Peter Hayward, Adventure Extraordinaire and owner of Hayward’s Grand Safari Company in camp with Celia du Preez on a mobile 5-star expedition in Africa
“As custodians of global Sanlam Wealthsmith investments, what better establishment to represent how to turn money into meaning and set the standard for a future vision of tourism and hospitality in South Africa and for the continent. “Together with Discount Traveler, this award is a testament to the skill and vision of its creators and sponsors.”
“Hospitality and tourism is a large driving force in our economy and we want to continue to recognise and reward one of our country’s most influential industries,” commented Jonathan Pepler, managing director of Discount Traveler and founder of the Sanlam Top Destination Awards.
– BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE
https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/haywards-grand-safari-company-wins-big-at-the-sanlam-top-destination-awards-2017-11378910
The Year 2021 started with a whimper for most… It was out of pure habit that I visited my local stationer and bought my new calendar diary to transfer my most important dates. I use the blank white pages of my still shiny 2020 diary to take notes while on the phone; okay I also doodle in it quite a bit.
Behind all the angst of the unknown in terms of both the virus and the global economy, January 2021 has been a very different month to that of the previous year – for those of us in South Africa, we couldn’t even celebrate the turning of time with a glass of champagne due to the country’s alcohol ban.
.For those lucky enough to still be employed or able to manage their businesses under #lockdown restrictions there is none of the energy usually associated with the start of a new year. For the many forced to swivel industries, the stress of trying to maintain one’s head above water while still coming up with new business ideas and marketing strategies under a whole new set of operating rules, these new landscapes make no promises and only offer a cool outlook.
I personally have had to reassess my idea of productivity.
Stress and angst are debilitating. Friends and family talk of the mind fugue and the exhaustion being experienced – for me, it feels a little like trying to run underwater, its awfully clumsy, slow and I can’t seem to hear or see ahead too well. While some in my circle try to attribute it to either old age, menopause or a doubling down on bad habits, there is no denying the mass consciousness of fear which grips the world and its a pretty heavy energy right now.
Online marketers are quick to respond to the lag with a million different hacks of how to motivate ourselves, usually accompanied by some slick copy writing which ends with a call to action to pay for your place in their race.
DO HAVE OR JUST BE
As the head of my family, I have to admit, I am a Do-er.
Pre-pandemic, I was an early riser who stuck to a strict timetable of chores and activities – none scheduled in for my own personal growth as I now recall – but pivotal in bootstrapping my business and ensuring my children would succeed at whatever they set out to do.
I have always believed that if you work hard you will get somewhere. This has proven true for me over the years too. I have had to pull me and my young family out of some pretty desperate places while relocating, job searching and finding a safe abode. And indeed, hard work and personal endeavour saw that I found my feet, set my course and like many, felt ready that finally 2020 was going to be the year it was all going to come together in a glorious succession of work-life-money balance.
WELL-BEING OF THE EGOIC MIND
The impact of Covid-19 has cut deep on our mental health – but more perhaps more silently. We know what to do if we get the virus but what does one do when you want to run screaming for the hills and you can’t because its lock down. Its a personal battle that we grapple with in the privacy of our four walls.
Faced with the devastation either of our own lives or those around us, finding the meaning of life each morning can become one’s greatest and something only challenge for the day. My biggest battle has been trying to find the balance between self-care, stress and the motivation to keep putting on my battle gear and heading out to the battlefield.
Difficult economic circumstances make us automatically feel we must become more productive in order to compensate for the gaps. But, for many of us, we are finding instead, the need to take mental health days as a form of self-assigned sick leave… the one’s where in early lock down, it was easier to avoid having to face the worries of the world or our personal lives by sticking our heads under the duvet, especially since we couldn’t move further than our own front door.
Yes, the New Year has been announced, the first pay day of the year has either arrived for you or it was a no show. Instead of beating yourself up about what you should be doing to engender new business, motivate yourself to get out there or do something radically different and amazing, please take a few more moments for self-care.
INDULGE YOURSELF
Our well being must be our first priority. A stressed mind can’t think clearly and no one is sure of the future agenda at this stage. Stop beating yourself up that you should be working and instead do the most self-indulgent thing you can for you. Join that hiking group, the one you’ve been meaning to for the last five years. Sit and watch the Food Channel all day, there in may lie your latent passion. Study the butterflies that come to your garden. Set up a mental self-help support group on Zoom. Find your own personal sweet spot and keep dipping back in there.
Now more than ever we are being challenged by the expectation of always having to be ‘switched on’ in our work-from-home living spaces. Its counterproductive to think you can make any Goliath changes right now.
Instead, take a breath or two, sit quietly by yourself (for at least 1 hour per day or better yet 1 hour in the morning and the afternoon) and really feel your way into this new year.
The world needs you in all your authentic self… not that old office manager persona, as an entrepreneur hotshot, or as a super earning Mom or Dad. No, the world needs real people who can watch the dawn rising from a quiet space in themselves, in order to hear the true voice inside of us. Wait patiently, we have to give this voice the space to emerge, to grow and to flow so that we can reach deep into this new place and replenish in order to go out into this Brave New World.
We shift only when we observe the chasm. Spend time learning your new landscape. This is how we learn to build bridges and roads, the one’s that lead to our future, spoken with the words of our heart.
Mercedes Westbrook is a Momtrepreneur, raising her three children in Cape Town, South Africa. Firehorse Media is her homegrown business of 6 years, offering online support with #contentcreation, #communicationsstrategy, #socialmediamanagement, #publicity, and affordable #Wordpress #websites. Visit www.firehorsemedia.co.za for more.
It is indeed a pleasure to commend Mercedes Westbrook for the outstanding PR and publicity expertise she has accomplished for our safari company this past year.
We have seen a significant increase across all social media and print articles and editorials, all going a long way to get Hayward’s Grand Safaris into the limelight where due.
Without a constant and dedicated outflow of industry updates and news from in-front and behind the scenes, our potential clients may not get the true story of who we are and what our safari lineage entails.
Having a professional on board such as Mercedes, who is able to encapsulate what makes us stand apart and what unique safari services we offer to our illustrious client base worldwide, is imperative to our future growth and success.
We look forward to continuing this process with Mercedes and building our brand exponentially into the future.
Sincerely
Peter Hayward
Founder and Chief Expeditions Officer
Tel: 086 173 2583 or +27 12 808 0442 or Cell: +27 82 606 1003
E-mail: peterhayward@ haywardsafaris.com
Web: www.haywardsafaris.com
