Cellphone giant Vodacom has aligned its corporate social responsibilities to a worldwide Vodafone initiative - World of Difference - by introducing a programme called 'Change the World'.
This initiative will give 10 people the opportunity to work at one of 10 SA-based charitable organisations for six months, while getting paid for it. The company invites SA citizens over the age of 18 to submit online applications detailing why they will be suitable to offer their expertise to charitable organisation by 8 December.
Each application will be individually judged based on the practicality of implementation and the skills the applicant brings to the project, Vodacom says. “The winning applicants will be notified by 21 February 2011. We will also notify all unsuccessful applicants.”
According to Mthobi Tyamzashe, Vodacom executive director of corporate social investment and chairman of the Vodacom Foundation, once selected, the successful applicants will be placed within the charities across the country that match their interests, skills and experience. “Each of the 10 charitable host organisations will receive an amount of R240 000,” he says.
This amount will be applied towards a sum not more than R20 000 monthly living allowance for the volunteer, with the balance being used for costs related to the volunteer placement programme, he points out. “This ensures that the host organisation is not financially worse-off due to the placement.”
For the successful volunteers, in addition to the monthly allowance, each will receive a laptop, cellphone and pre-paid credit to be used towards sharing their experiences with friends and family and thereby inspire others to make a difference, according to Tyamzashe.
Through the programme, the volunteers will be afforded the opportunity to do something very close to their hearts while at the same time impart their skills and expertise to a charitable organisation, he says.
Vodacom says a thorough search of available non-governmental organisations followed by a comprehensive due diligence check by an independent agency, on behalf of Vodacom, was able to identify a shortlist of 10 volunteer-ready host organisations
He says this is an ongoing project. “We will start with 10 volunteers on 4 April 2011 and when the programme ends after six months, we will start again and might increase the number of places to volunteer at," he assures.
Tyamzashe says this is an on going mission for the company since 1999. “We have initiatives like the staff volunteer programme, the Yebo Heroes, which enables staff to donate time, collected items and their skills to needy organisations.”
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