Worthy Winter Outreach Initiatives for Your Business
Find out why, how and where to get your business on board with winter outreach initiatives.
Be a change agent!
There is a lot to be negative about in the world right now. We face a winter of near-certain load shedding and an uncertain global economy.
The wonderful thing about humanity, and the way we interact with our world, is our innate capacity to hope. With hope, we have the ability to overcome and ultimately triumph, for the greater good.
Let this winter be a season of hope for those less fortunate
We have found some Worthy Winter Causes that absolutely deserve your support and can help you and your company to give back in the very real sense of the word.
There are various options all over the country. Causes range from early childhood development centres to feeding schemes. There are disaster relief initiatives and even wildlife and animal foundations. There is no reason not to find your niche and start making a difference.
The Benefits of outreach
Community outreach benefits society and your business. It establishes your company as community and ethically minded and creates goodwill between your customer base and yourself. If the community is thriving, this will help your business thrive.
Showing that your company cares will ensure that it is easier to attract and retain employees. You will also connect with other local businesses for future partnerships. Your company’s credibility ratings will go up as new customers view you as reliable and interested in improving your community.
Where do I start?
Visit www.forgood.co.za for a comprehensive list of causes nationwide. This website has done all the leg work for you, and you can easily search for a cause geographically as well as according to category. Thereby you can find the causes relevant to your business or location. It’s as easy as clicking and scrolling!
How do I make it work?
Understand that not everyone will feel comfortable with each type of outreach.
It doesn’t help anyone if you send a “volunteer” who is petrified of dogs to an animal shelter.
Establish the strengths represented in your team and pick worthy causes that will not only make a difference in the lives of the needy but also benefit team members and empower them by seeing the change they are affecting.
If your goal is a once-off, high impact project hype this up sufficiently and get the whole workforce involved. Communicate progress and give weekly status updates to keep the team motivated.
If you decide on a more long-term programme of assistance, work out a schedule that fits your employee’s available time. Don’t schedule outreach around big deadlines. Remember that sustainable help on a regular basis is worth much more than fantastical promises that never come to fruition.
The most important thing, however, is to get everyone on board. (That means you as well.)
Don’t just send out your employees. Take the opportunity to get involved yourself and spend some time with your workforce. Getting to know each other outside the constraints of the workplace can open your eyes to a possible wealth of potential within your own people.
Some Outreach Options:
Help Volkswagen support the KZN flood victims.
Help The Topsy Foundation in Johannesburg by donating beanies for the children at the ECD Centres
Help Sekhukhune Environmental Justice Network by donating food to orphans in Cape Town
Help Anchor of Hope to restore dignity to vulnerable people in Bloemfontein.
