Nearly a quarter of a million rand has been donated to charities in Cape Town, after Fusion SA, a local business process outsourcing group, established a corporate social investment (CSI) programme to provide both financial and practical support to organisations providing crucial services to the local community.
"Our CSI programme, Fusion Heart, is comprised of three streams that our employees believe have a direct impact on the quality of lives in their local communities, namely HIV (Aids), education and the environment,” says Elmori Richter, Human Capital Executive for Fusion SA.
Richter says the intention of Fusion Heart, which has so far given away a total of R215 000, is not just to raise money, but also to make a practical difference in the aspirations of its chosen charities.
“We work closely with the charities to understand what their long-term objectives are and agree on how Fusion can partner with them to help achieve these objectives,” says Richter. “We don't just want to provide a financial contribution; we want to give all the support necessary to help them meet their long-term goals.”
One of these charities is the Fikelela Outreach Programme, founded to provide an active response to South Africa's HIV/Aids pandemic. The charity received a cheque for R75 000 to help establish a children's home to house abandoned HIV and Aids infected children.
A further R50 000 was donated to the Animal Rescue Organisation, a not-for-profit charity providing free medical services to animals living in townships and informal settlements around the Cape peninsula.
Ikhaya Le Themba, a crucial programme vital to the people of Khayelitsha, also received a cheque for R20 000 to help fund its initiative of empowering the local community to care for the terminally ill and their families.
Fusion Heart continues to raise further donations and is also encouraging its employees to provide additional help, not just to its chosen charities, but also within their own communities, through practical means such as building, painting new centres, reading to children or taking them on outings.
“Our approach to all our upliftment initiatives is not only to help raise funds to support our chosen charities, but to ensure that this is equally matched with sweat equity - motivating our staff to give of their time and skills to help provide sustainable support,” says Richter.
“Fusion SA aims to provide a secure and nurturing environment for its staff in order that they are able to reach their full potential. Fusion Heart is simply an extension of this belief, and we hope that through our efforts we can make a positive impact on the wider local community,” says Richter.
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Fusion SA
Fusion Outsourcing Services is a fast-growing provider of business process outsourcing services based in Century City, Cape Town. Fusion is a wholly owned subsidiary of the BGL Group, one of the UK's largest personal lines intermediaries.
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