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This is what 4,5 million rands looks like as a number but expressed in essential goods. It’s also the milestone that we passed this month. As at 20 December 2022 CareVoucher has reached ZAR 4,577,484 in funding to date. This enables families across South Africa who need a little help over the Holidays and Back-to-School period to buy their own essential goods at their nearest Shoprite Checkers or USave stores nationwide. SFO Red is pioneering philanthropy as a service in South Africa by not only providing a secure means for businesses and business families to donate but also nudging responsible buying behaviour, as beneficiaries cannot redeem store credit at LiqourStore outlets. The collaboration with our retail providers, Shoprite and Computicket, has enabled this inventive step – helping families to only buy what they essentially need. As a family focused financial services business we are immensely proud of where the money is going. Over the holidays thousands of people will have money to eat and buy school stationery with CareVoucher.
SFO Red consulted with senior management at Tygerberg Hospital (TBH) with the aim of sponsoring medical equipment that would support the incredible work that their paediatric department does to help sick children and their families, and we delivered a state of the art Stryker bed this December as now pictured in their ICU. The Tygerberg Hospital Pediatric and Child Health Department runs 308 inpatient beds serving mostly the poor community within its geographical area. It is more or less half of the 2,4 million children living in the Western Cape who need specialist medical care. Specialist care is offered to areas of the Northern and Eastern Cape, and TBH support paediatric care in other African countries. Every year, approximately 16 000 babies and children are admitted to TBH and more than 100 000 children receive specialist medical care as outpatients. TBH serves as the academic hospital for the University of Stellenbosch, the University of the Western Cape and other tertiary institutions, as well as the Provincial Government of the Western Cape.
This is what 3,5 million rands looks like expressed in essential goods. It’s also the funding milestone that we passed this month. As at 1 June 2022 CareVoucher has passed 3,5 million rands in total donations to date. Enabling over 10,120 voucher purchases for verified beneficiaries to buy their own essential goods, with each voucher equal to a weeks worth of food, for their families at their nearest Shoprite, Checkers or Usave stores nationwide. This is also an essential milestone for financial services in South Africa as CareVoucher has effectively introduced a new gold standard in retail philanthropy by not merely functioning as an efficient payment mechanism but also nudging consumer behaviour in favour of buying essential goods. [Our] Store credit is restricted at brand level to exclude the purchase of alcohol or tobacco products at LiquorStore outlets. This is an impactful end-to-end solution for businesses and business families who “Think Twice” about their approach to philanthropy. Over the coming months hundreds of beneficiaries will purchase their own essential goods in- store. There is dignity in that.
CareVoucher is differentiated by putting transparent care first. Recognising a potential barrier for conscious non-customers in financial services, we are now leading with transparent care. This means that we do not build in any hidden fees whatsoever and that 100% of the donated R 350 store credit is delivered to the end beneficiary on your behalf. Independently audited. We add a flat fee or surcharge on top of the donated amount to cover all the offline work that goes into facilitating your philanthropy. CareVoucher has now passed the ZAR 2m milestone in total donations to date. Providing an efficient end-to-end retail philanthropy solution for businesses and business families seeking to [carefully] provide hunger relief in South Africa and nudge pro-survival consumer behaviour through our choice architecture. Donate store credit for essential goods to empower a family in need to buy their own groceries at any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave stores. CareVouchers cannot be used to buy alcohol or tobacco products at LiquorStore outlets nationwide.
In anticipation of the third wave and increased lockdown restrictions SFO Red has successfully partnered with local communities to distribute 31,500 masks in South Africa. The efficiency of this project can be attributed to our collaboration with community leaders and the cooperation that we secured in Kayamandi, Sarepta Bonnievale and Retreat from local primary schools who made it possible for us to distribute directly through their trusted teachers at classroom level. Partly funded by the Swiss Charitable Foundation BERFRED thousands of needy children now have access to bricks of clean masks through their [empowered] local primary school. Each brick was wrapped in certified compostable cling wrap at our pop-up PPE facility in Devonbosch with support from Cabrico. Together we are saving lives.
SFO Red is pioneering responsible giving by enabling businesses and business families to express care by donating grocery vouchers for essential goods through our secure and efficient retail solution for philanthropy. As at 10 June 2021 we are proud to announce over 4,157 CareVouchers have now been redeemed at Shoprite, Checkers and Usave stores nationwide empowering needy families to participate in the SA economy by purchasing their own essential goods. Is your CSR committee or charitable trust looking for a [retail] philanthropy solution? Donate with CareVoucher to nudge healthier purchase choices as store credit cannot be redeemed for alcohol or tobacco products at LiquorShop outlets.
The Carecube Organisation has established itself as a trusted philanthropy service provider for international businesses and business families seeking to create positive impact with their philanthropy in South Africa. [Tested] In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic we were able to adapt our offering through digitalisation with CareVoucher a digital product/service that we solutioned using existing voucher mechanics from Africa’s largest retail group and adding a layer of care with our choice architecture to restrict voucher use to essential goods only. Powered by Schmidt Family Office (or “SFO”) and with the support of it’s client and partner network we have now successfully distributed ZAR 1,403,500 enabling 4,010 families to buy essential goods only to the value of ZAR 350 per shopping trip at their nearest Shoprite, Checkers or USave store nationwide. Seeking to further our impact in financial services we are excited to announce that Carecube will be joining the SFO platform and operating under a new name from 10 May 2021. Introducing SFO Red. A symbol of strategic philanthropy in financial services.
What’s wrong with this picture? Millions of children in South Africa go to school everyday without access to basic PPE. An economic reality is that in many households masks are seen as a luxury and often children have to go to school without basic protection as seen in this picture. Following guidelines prescribed by the World Health Organisation which promotes the use of masks to curb the spread of Covid-19 SFO Red is collaborating with Cabrico and Devonbosch to launch a temporary PPE Pop-up facility in Stellenbosch to package and distribute masks for school children in South Africa.
CareVoucher has officially been selected as one of thirty research projects in the HEC Paris MSIE program this January. Now having distributed over ZAR 1,335,950 for hunger relief in South Africa, whereby 3817 families were able to each buy a basket of essential goods to the value of ZAR 350. We are humbled by the recognition from the no.1 business school in Europe as voted by Financial Times, and look forward to collaborating with an international cohort. Click here find out how your firm, charitable trust or organisation can use CareVoucher for your next charitable distribution in South Africa. Empowering beneficiaries to buy essential goods only from any Shoprite, Checkers or USave stores nationwide.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been no picnic and especially so as families are starving all around South Africa. This month we are proud to announce that we have delivered over ZAR 1,1m in hunger relief through CareVoucher which has paid for 3,291 shopping trips enabling families to buy essential goods at any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave stores nationwide. Having now passed proof of concept as a trusted digital solution for charitable trusts and financial services professionals to safely deliver aid to those in need, while adhering to social distancing guidelines, we need you. Make a difference this festive season with CareVoucher. Click here to securely provide hunger relief in South Africa from anywhere in the world.
Now available on Computicket. Give a R350 virtual grocery voucher (COVID-19 AID) for someone in need to buy essential goods at any Shoprite, Checkers, or Usave stores nationwide. CareVoucher is distributed digitally to comply with social distancing guidelines via the carecube platform which is plugged into verified community databases in South Africa.
Refugees at the Innovation Lab in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan have designed a robot prototype made from LEGO bricks which automatically dispenses sanitiser so people don’t have to touch the bottle. Their aim is to help prevent coronavirus and contribute towards the global effort to control the disease. Click here to watch this story featured on Things We Love .
Leading South African economist Dawie Roodt speaks with Dr Morné Mostert about the shift in business purpose and the need for a practical guide as developed by Philanthropy Indaba with Carecube R&D and the Institute for Futures Research at Stellenbosch University. Also featuring recent examples of what has been delivered thus far using this impactful new model for philanthropy. Watch the repeat on the Onbytsake Youtube channel here.
The Carecube Organisation is excited to announce a philanthropy collaboration with Africa Fashion International to produce Carecube Edition masks to curb the spread of Covid-19. Our first 2,000 masks have been shipped to Bonnievale in The Western Cape for distribution by Bonnievale Projects. Join AFI and help your community. Donate a mask.
Shop AFI face masks
Traditional philanthropy is blind and giving is treated as an add-on, usually in the marketing department. At a recent conference co-hosted by the Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, leading international think tank the Club of Rome signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding with the East-West Philanthropy Forum (EWPF), an international network of action-oriented philanthropists and their families from East and West dedicated to developing partnerships that impact today’s most urgent environmental and social challenges.
According to Forbes, in the USA alone, a posited $30trillion will shift to millennials, in the great wealth transfer over the next few decades. Millennial and Coronial thought patterns must now inform philanthropic action. This new research places the science of Philanthropy at the heart of business strategy – an approach which is particularly relevant in an era in which business is in distress.
IFR Senior Futurist Doris Viljoen and Gerrit Schmidt III, Head of R&D at Carecube, discuss the need for practical knowledge in philanthropy as a key component of African Business Futures. And share more about the new Philanthropy Model, designed in collaboration with the IFR.
The nation-wide lockdown restrictions implemented by the South African Government last week required us to close our facilities but fortunately we were able to secure a direct distribution channel for Carecube through our nutrition supplier, Futurelife, who is able to keep delivering in this time under sanction as an essential goods and services provider. With the country and rest of the world under lock-down Carecube in collaboration with Futurelife has been able to provide 80,000 meals in the Western Cape distributed by Bonnievale Projects. Following strict social distancing protocols in addition to other prescribed health and safety regulations Bonnievale Projects has set up safe distribution zones to provide food for those in need. This distribution would not have been possible without The Swiss Charitable Foundation BERFRED and the Futurelife factory team in Durban. View nutritional info
Recently the Rupert and Oppenheimer families contributed to assist distressed small businesses. The Motsepe family and associated companies also pledged R1billion to assist with a wider range of coronavirus-related challenges confronting South Africa and the rest of the continent. So how can this philanthropy model assist small businesses? Watch on eNCA
Recent philanthropic gestures have the potential for significant support to small business, but only if such philanthropy is strategic in nature.
The Rupert and Oppenheimer families have each contributed R1 billion to assist small businesses and their employees affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Shortly afterwards, the Motsepe family and associated companies pledged R1 billion to assist a wider range of Corona-related challenges that are confronting South Africa and the African Continent.
It is also global company news that Bill Gates has stepped down from the board of Microsoft to focus on philanthropy, while Naspers has recently announced that the group will donate R1.5 billion in emergency aid to the government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
In a period of global crisis, developing a deep understanding of philanthropy is, perhaps paradoxically, essential for continued business success.
In addressing the global shift in consciousness to business beyond profit, the Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at University of Stellenbosch Business School has collaborated with African think tank, Philanthropy Indaba, to produce a new framework for corporate philanthropy known as the Philanthropy Indaba (PI) Model.
According to Gerrit Schmidt III of Schmidt Family Office (SFO), who initiated the research, the new model is differentiated from traditional philanthropy in a number of critical ways. The first important differentiator is to connect. He believes philanthropy should find a link between the expertise and focus of the benefactors and the need perceived in their social context. Such need is made all the more poignant in the current crisis, he explains.
In conventional philanthropy, giving is treated an add-on, usually in the marketing department. This new research places the science of Philanthropy at the heart of business strategy, and this approach is particularly relevant when businesses are in distress. All businesses and wealth exist in a social context.
Smart philanthropy understands that context from the vantage point of their own expertise, and proceeds to serve critical subsystems in their network.
As an example, the Rupert and Oppenheimer families both have brands characterised by entrepreneurial flair. As a result, their contributions are earmarked for entrepreneurial small businesses.
Similarly, beneficiation from Motsepe Family and associate companies, which include Sanlam, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and others – all brands with a very wide social reach – will extend benefit to very wide range of beneficiaries and sectors, including education, water, medicine and others.
According to their statement, they will engage, just as their product range does, with kings, queens, communities, religious and faith-based organisations, government entities and many more.
When the work of Gates is examined, it reveals a similar singularity of purpose, although broadly interpreted: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (reported to be the largest private foundation in the world) uses technology and scientific discoveries to reduce inequality, in the same way that Gates had once imagined a personal computer on every desk.
At a recent conference co-hosted by the IFR, leading international think tank the Club of Rome signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the East-West Philanthropy Forum (EWPF), an international network of action-oriented philanthropists and their families from East and West dedicated to developing partnerships that impact today’s most urgent environmental and social challenges.
In this way the Club of Rome, for whom the climate emergency is a key focus area, has developed a systemic network to expand its organisational objectives and serve society at the same time.
The PI Model further uses a reinterpretation of Design Thinking to support organisational, individual and family philanthropy. When viewed in the context of small business beneficiation during COVID-19, the implications are significant, as the steps below illustrate:
Define: needs created by the epidemic for small businesses are researched as the basis for philanthropy. Blind and random giving (often the staple of traditional philanthropy) is avoided.
Empathise: the real-world of small business beneficiaries is carefully scrutinised. This may include appreciating business-critical issues of cash flow, making payroll, access to credit, rapid digitisation and others.
Ideate: here innovation is generated in a co-design process with a sample of small businesses. It is important that real and viable small businesses are used, rather than relying on representative bodies, which may lack real-world experience beyond drafting idealistic business plans.
Prototype: an early example of a small business is used in order to visualise how such a small business may benefit from the multi-billion Rand pledges. In practical terms, this could mean drawing up a cashflow projection to see exactly when the crisis-based benefit will kick in.
Test: prototypes are applied to more businesses in field conditions to learn about the real benefits.
During times of crisis, when mental distress rises, higher order decision-making is often threatened by emotional over or under-reactions. The temptation for knee-jerk reaction in philanthropy may have counterintuitive results that could retard rather than enhance the real world of the beneficiaries. The PI Model could to conceptualise strategic philanthropy in order to ensure longer term viability for small businesses.
Dr Morne Mostert is Director of the Institute for Futures Research (IFR) and a member of the Club of Rome. Gerrit Schmidt III of Schmidt Family Office Stellenbosch is head of R&D at the Carecube Organisation and co-founder of Philanthropy Indaba. Read on Fin24
Design is a vital aspect of any brand and it was important for us to reflect that empathy and innovation are central to our organisation. Developed with Alex Hunter art director at AAH Studio in London, we are proud to introduce our new logo. Made with care. AAH Studio
This month we broke our 30,000 meals milestone when we delivered 3,948 meals to Tafelsig Primary School with support from the Swiss Charitable Foundation BERFRED. The public school system faces many challenges and in order to deliver effective aid to hungry school children, we need to keep innovating our delivery. With BrunchboXx now containing Futurelife Smart Food we are able to reduce operational pressures of volunteer-run kitchens even further as the porridge is able to bond with cold water or milk. This also allows the school to save additional resources typically required for meal prep like the use of electricity to boil water, providing safer meals by reducing the risk of burn related injuries in classrooms. Having secured funding from a South African charitable foundation we look forward to delivering more meals next term. 30,103 meals and counting.
Manuela Molina has created a short book to support and reassure children, under the age of 7, regarding the COVID-19. Her book is an invitation for families to discuss the full range of emotions arising from the current situation. It is important to point out that this resource does not seek to be a source of scientific information, but rather a tool based on fantasy. Her recommendation is to print this material so children can draw on it. Remember that emotions are processed through repetitive play and stories read multiple times. Share COVIBOOK and help ease kiddo’s anxiety all over the world. Download COVIBOOK here
What happens if you get infected with the coronavirus? Who’s most at risk? How can you protect yourself? Public health expert David Heymann, who led the global response to the SARS outbreak in 2003, shares the latest findings about COVID-19 and what the future may hold. Watch David Heymann’s Ted Talk this month on Things We Love.
WHO is continuously monitoring and responding to this outbreak. This Q&A will be updated as more is known about COVID-19, how it spreads and how it is affecting people worldwide. For more information, check back regularly on WHO’s coronavirus pages here
In the wake of global investment debates on the impact of the so-called “great wealth transfer”, research has emerged that indicates that we will see millennials inherit a posited $60 trillion from their baby boomer parents over the next three decades.
There is a clear shift in corporate consciousness towards purpose beyond profit, and the philanthropy industry needs to respond urgently. Traditional philanthropy models have been based largely on ring-fencing money for giving. In other words, philanthropy was viewed as an “add-on” to core business processes. Many businesses have relegated philanthropy to the marketing department due to a lack of corporate bandwidth for careful intellectual consideration.
It is against this background that The Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at Stellenbosch University has collaborated with an African think tank, Philanthropy Indaba, to produce a new framework for corporate philanthropy, known as the Philanthropy Indaba (PI) Model.
This comes after the recent summit of the Club of Rome in Stellenbosch, co-hosted by the IFR, during which new models of finance were proposed and a significant global philanthropy agreement was signed.
This new model moves beyond “posing for philanthropy” and is integrated and essential for competitive advantage.
The method was further inspired by the rapid rise in the phenomenon of Design Thinking. According to this methodology, human-centric design is key. When applied to philanthropy, this has three key implications:
* Philanthropy must be “designed”; not simply added as a special project.
* Philanthropy must be based on actual needs of the beneficiary, as opposed to the “dumping” of excess product or the donation of items of perceived benefit.
* The very nature of business is integrated into the idea of philanthropy, i.e. philanthropy is part of the business strategy.
BrunchboXx
According to Gerrit Schmidt III of Schmidt Family Office (SFO), who initiated the research and formed a philanthropy Think Tank with the IFR, “weak philanthropy will make corporations more vulnerable”. He explains the integration with an analogy to hybrid cars: “just as a hybrid vehicle has integrated engine-technology to automatically reduce environmental impact, so philanthropy becomes part of the very engine driving modern business.”
The laboratory for the PI model was its application to BrunchboXx, a philanthropic school nutrition enterprise of Carecube. This practical experiment revealed a key differentiator as a first step of the new model, known as Connect. In this step, philanthropy-wise businesses should explore their own industry, before falling prey to “random giving”. This includes discovering the perspectives of multiple stakeholders in order to produce what the model calls “an echo of values of the value chain”.
This includes strategic alignment of the values and principles of staff members as well as potential direct and indirect beneficiaries. As one imaginative technique (known as a thought experiment), organisations are encouraged to identify a “natural theme” for giving. This stimulates companies to consider how they might behave, given their core competence, if they were purely philanthropic. Companies are asked: How might philanthropy mitigate the potential social and environmental damage of our downstream value chain and how could it enhance our positive impact?
Long term investment
Once businesses are clear on their role in the broader ecosystem, the model moves on to other steps in the Design Thinking process, adapted for philanthropy. These include:
Define: gaps and needs in the context are discovered (not assumed) as the basis for giving.
Empathise: the reality of beneficiaries is studied immersively, as opposed to simply guessing from the comfort of the boardroom.
Ideate: ideas are generated in a co-design process with targeted beneficiaries.
Prototype: an early version is created in order to enhance visualisation of the intended gift.
Test: prototypes are applied to field conditions to discover their actual use and identify new applications.
This approach to philanthropy is vastly different from traditional methods in which there is significant distance from beneficiaries and limited strategic awareness of the relevance of the gifting. Naturally business pursues profit, but a deeper understanding of philanthropy, supported by natural and authentic systemic connections, may turn philanthropy from an unrelated donation to a long-term sustainable investment for competitive advantage.
* Dr Morne Mostert is Director of the Institute for Futures Research, a unit for strategic foresight at Stellenbosch University. Read on Netwerk24
Each month brings a week of extra worry in the lives of millions of young girls in low-income communities; it’s not an easy period. Education may be the answer but the question remains: “how can I go to school if I don’t have a pad?” This month we supplied 3,534 value packs of Always Ultra disposable sanitary pads within the Nyanga community in collaboration with the Sithembele Matiso Secondary School. Through the support of Swiss Charitable Foundation BERFRED 63,612 pads have been delivered to help keep girls from missing school periods. Distributed with discretion and packet with care, Always.
Join our awareness campaign to promote menstrual health and the need for funding to provide more girls with sanitary pads in Africa. Millions of girls are missing school periods, due to their periods. Spread the message by wearing the official campaign t-shirt. Now available for pre-order.
Our bright breakfast boXx has become a trusted delivery mechanism for food and hope to children in low income communities. The instant meal helps to keep children focused in class today but the inspiration to re-imagine their used food containers as something new sparks a valuable resource for tomorrow; the ability to imagine new possibilities for something or yourself. BrunchboXx is [now] proudly endorsed by Futurelife.
Irene Chen is a third year PhD student at MIT working to advance machine learning to help doctors and other clinicians improve health care. With her supervisor, David Sontag, and Boston-area hospitals, Chen is taking on the challenge of heart failure. After diagnosis, Chen says, heart failure patients live an average of five years. She wants to develop techniques that will make diagnosis more accurate and improve the treatment and quality of life among patients — based on their age, past history, lab results, and other factors that can be modelled and better understood using new and more sensitive tools in machine learning. Watch Irene’s Video on Things We Love
In 2017, 27-year-old Cassie De Pecol set two Guinness World Records for the fastest travel around the world to every sovereign country. Join Cassie for an in depth look at how she did it, what it was like, and for the first time publicly, the real reason why she started the expedition. Cassie De Pecol is a world traveler, keynote speaker, brand ambassador, triathlete, activist, and entrepreneur. Born in 1989, she was raised and homeschooled in rural Connecticut. She enjoyed “out of the box” educational and multicultural experiences at various universities before deciding to begin her solo travels to 25 countries at the age of 21. In 2015, she started fresh, traveling alone to all 196 countries and securing two Guinness World Records. Watch Cassie’s Ted Talk this month on Things We Love.
This month we delivered more BrunchboXxes in Cape Town and got to meet some very special little people; young creative thinkers who are indirectly using design to imagine brighter futures. It’s a simple start but a used food container can be cleaned and reimagined, reused as a crayon boXx or even used to start a savings account with coins and marbles. 26,865 meals/possibilities and counting.
Over the past 12 months we have been fortunate enough to meet wonderful little people through our school food initiative. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting aspiring astronauts, future presidents and even some famous athletes in the making. Whatever these extraordinary children choose to become one day, the important thing is that they never stop dreaming. We created a school-food project in support of little dreamers and it’s delivered 26,748 meals and counting.
How can Africa, the home to some of the largest bodies of water in the world, be said to have a water crisis? It doesn’t, says Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò — it has a knowledge crisis. Táíwò suggests that lack of knowledge on important topics like water and food is what stands between Africa’s current state and a future of prosperity. In a powerful talk, he calls for Africa to make knowledge within the continent rewarding and reclaim its position as a locus of learning on behalf of humanity. Watch Táíwò’s Ted Talk this month on Things We Love.
It’s quite an exciting thing to reach a goal and even more so when it has been surpassed. In response to the water crisis that hit the Western Cape last November we launched an emergency project in aid of animal welfare to distribute 25,000L of safe drinking water. With the crisis now over we are proud to announce that we successfully distributed 25,970L over the past 12 months in support of SPCA Cape of Good Hope, AACL Epping, AACL Bellville, Mannenberg Pets Project, Mdzananda Animal Clinic Khayelitsha and AWSS Stellenbosch.
When living in a farm area the spread of disease is a subject not taken lightly. In the farmlands surrounding Philippi, the fatal and highly contagious distemper virus has been running rampant. The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWSSA) have put together a project to tackle the spread by vaccinating 500 animals in the area. We are pleased to have made their goal possible by supplying 500 vaccinations via our Carebooster™ project. The Carebooster project supports animal welfare by distributing essential animal vaccinations to lower income communities through mobile clinics. This is just one of the ways we are boosting care in our country. Pharmaceutical order fulfilled by MSD for carecube.
Leaping off buildings wasn’t exactly something graduate student Yubing Zhang ever thought she’d do. By pushing beyond her comfort zone and taking that bungee cord leap, she learned more than she ever could have imagined. Watch Zhang’s Ted talk this month on Things We Love.
SAMAST Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha has their hands full with 50 additional animals currently in their care following the devastating fires that broke out in Town Two on 20 October. The fires destroyed hundreds of shacks — leaving many residents homeless and seriously injured. Thankfully this Welfare Clinic is there to care for the abandoned animals of this community; their primary focus is on sterilisations and primary health but they immediately suspended their activities to provide shelter for these animals during the disastrous events. In response to their urgent request for support with cat food specifically we were able to supply them with an emergency supply of 123 x 1kg bags of quality cat food.
Spring brought in a lot of hope this year. And so have we. We are excited to announce that we have delivered 540 square meals of hope to Tafelsig Primary School in the form of our blissful BrunchBoXxes. Our heartily designed boxes of oats, a spoon and fun instructions brought a lot more smiles and full bellies than we could have hoped for. Here is what happened when we delivered the first consignment to some very excited children. We can’t wait to see how BrunchBoXx changes little lives in a big way.
Of course we all just want to be happy, but our culture is obsessed with happiness to a detrimental degree. It floods our social news feeds, stampedes our thoughts and is stressed as every persons personal goal. We do so much, work so hard and yet the vast majority of the world is in a depression. The truth is happiness is not a constant state, and how can it be when it often lies on such superficial levels. “Happiness comes and goes” says writer Emily Esfahani smith, “but having meaning in life, serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you, gives you something to hold onto”. Watch Smith’s Ted Talk where she discusses the four pillars of a meaningful life. Featured this month on Things We Love.
Primary schools need a fast food solution, quicker meals with less prep time. Having facilitated the delivery of over 26,000 warm meals in the public school sector over the past 12 months, we realised the need for a simplified meal system. So we developed a snazzy liquid-tight meal in a box. Our BrunchboXx contains a 50g sachet of Jungle Oats and a disposable spoon. Effectively reducing the required resources for food preparation to a kettle. Just add warm water and stir.
This month we delivered 700 liters of water to the Manenberg Pets Project via our Emergency Water For Animal Welfare Initiative. Located at the Manenberg People’s Centre, The MPP offers primary and secondary health care for animals in the Cape Flats. With some help from SAPS we successfully completed our water delivery, extending our reach to yet another community.
Featured on our curated youtube channel. What are you passionate about? You’re told these five words hold the key to a successful career and life purpose. What if it’s the wrong question altogether? This talk turns the ubiquitous “find your passion” message on its ear.
Our BrunchboXx is a happy school snack that lets hungry kids focus on the board and not their bellies. To us, our box of instant oats porridge is so much more than porridge and a spoon and we wanted little ones to know that they mean so much more too. That’s why we collaborated with Alex Hunter from AAH Studio in London to create something fun and packed with care, just like it was packed by mom. Alex’s extensive experience in packaging design includes the likes of Marks and Spencer, which is why we trusted her to package the only meal that a child could get that day. Even the “Xx” is our way of showing a little bit of warmth, as if mom had sent kisses with lunch. We are excited to launch our BrunchboXx and to spread a little warmth and a little joy in the belles and hearts of school children across South Africa.
Headed up by Dr Mpho Hlalele on the carecube.org platform Carebooster provides low income communities with 5 in 1 vaccinations for their pets through mobile animal clinics and animal welfare hospitals. Animals are given the opportunity to receive a follow up booster which keeps adults protected from disease for a full year. Coordinated by us and delivered via a registered veterinary pharmaceutical company. We are excited to announce that our project has officially launched in the Western Cape this month with The Animal Welfare Society Stellenbosch and The Animal Anti-Cruelty League. 500 Vaccinations and counting!
The water scarcity in the Western Cape remains a major threat to the daily operations of animal welfare clinics. This month we delivered 6,000 liters of water for animal welfare in the Western Cape in aid of clinics in Stellenbosch, Khayelitsha and Bellville. Distributed with care via our Emergency Water Project for the animal welfare sector.
Parkrun is the world-wide weekly running event that everyone is talking about. It’s free and happening at a park near you on every weekend, now in over 20 countries! It’s a 5km event and it’s really fun to do but just in case you are not a runner, there is some good news. You can also walk the distance. The carecube team is passionate about fitness and about promoting the importance of being active. Represent carecube.org by wearing our official t-shirt at your next parkrun. Join a world-wide team of fitness enthusiasts from anywhere in the world..ready, set, go! Register
Music is the boom of hope, the rattle of redemption and the song of unity. No one knows the truth to this as well as the Imvula Music Program in Gugulethu. Imvula is the satellite branch of Playing for Change, which has been uplifting and inspiring communities since 2007. Imvula’s band of passionate artists teaches music to children that don’t have the opportunity to experience much beyond their confining circumstances. Looking at their limited and outdated instruments we decided to expand and update their musical equipment. We went all out from a Tama drum kit and Fender Telecaster to a Yamaha classical guitar and a Cort Bass guitar. Music opens the soul to be free from circumstance. For more information about the organisation please visit playingforchange.org
Our team ended off February on a major high with 15 successful new graduates through our first aid for primary school teachers program in the Western Cape, with teachers traveling from as far away as Stellenbosch and Nyanga to our training facility in Paarden Island by public transport. We were humbled by their willingness to learn about first aid and also by their willingness to challenge firm cultural beliefs about how one should handle situations such as epileptic seizures and panic attacks. First aid training saves lives.
We are pleased to announce that our emergency caretanks have now been installed at The AACL Epping Animal Hospital providing a total backup water storage capacity of 10,000 liters for use in their facility. Thankfuly we were also able to source a bulk supply of safe drinking water in the Eastern Cape which was delivered directly to Epping by our team.
The first day back at school is always a day filled with excitement and the promise of a better year. The Tafelsig Primary School do their utmost to transcend this belief, and to them it all starts in the kitchen. Everyday this school’s kitchen staff feeds 120 pupils because they know that learning is easier with a full belly. Inspired by these actions in 2017, carecube.org began a breakfast fund. We are thrilled to have surprised the school on their first day back with a delivery of one hundred 10kg bags of maize porridge. Knowledge starts with the most important meal of the day.
Every Capetonian knows the extremity of the water situation as the city inches toward dreaded day zero. The water restrictions are harsh with residents being encouraged to save water, limit their shower time and flush as little as possible. If the situation is this dire for its residents one can only imagine how much our animals are going to suffer. In anticipation of the water shortages we have managed to secure two 5,000 liter water tanks for the AACL’s Animal Hospital in Epping, currently en route from George in the South Western Cape. We aim to do as much as we can to ease the impact that this water shortage will have on our animals.
Social media is no longer just a means to eradicate boredom, it’s the way we live our lives, it’s how we stay in touch with world events and each other. We don’t just scroll to find out more information; we are all searching for something. We’re looking for that burst of inspiration, that creative injection to fuel our modern imaginations. Introducing something worthy of your precious time: ‘Things We Love’, a curated Youtube channel of things we love and of the bright side of humanity.
As you can imagine cats aren’t the easiest patients to have, they tend to like to do things their own way and are quick to snub food if they don’t feel well. This is why the Anti Animal Cruelty League Cape Town has broadcasted a public plea for wet cat food donations. It’s highly palatable and ensures these sick felines get the nutrition to spear head their healing process. We are happy to announce that 750 packets of Whiska’s were delivered by our team to the busy hospital ward of the AACL in Epping. For more information about the Epping cattery or to find out how you can get involved please visit aacl.co.za
It’s official, the Tafelsig Primary Schools’ Kitchen staff have passed their Fire Safety Training at Safetech’s Bellville facility. These wonderful kitchen ladies are certified to extinguish more then a grumble in 100 tummies every morning. Well done to them! We are thrilled to have been part of making their kitchen a safer place.
The tightening of Cape Towns water rationing belts over the past few months has preempted our water drive for animal welfare. We are happy to have brought 10 000 liters of relief, split evenly, to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA and the AACL. Thank you to our project grantors and team of volunteers for helping us achieve this massive milestone.
Inspired by a very special little character, carecube.org has created a blankie fund called Elliefriend. The fund supplies our range of uplifting and comforting baby blankets to registered baby sanctuaries in Africa. Elliefriend is more then a charity blanket, Elliefriend is a cuddle buddy whose design is aimed to help little ones through the long nights. Our first Shipment went to Cotlands Baby Sanctuary in Macassar. 200 blankies were delivered to children who could really use an Elliefriend.
Children come to school to learn and although learning can be challenging when children come to school hungry it becomes extra difficult to focus in class. We created a breakfast fund to provide schools with porridge because fuller tummies mean fuller concentration and a better chance at achieving a better future. Put a smile in a hungry child’s belly today. https://www.givengain.com/cc/tafelsig/
Technology is the only aspect of the future that is certain to stay, which is why data literacy training is an area we are so keen to develop. We are happy to have set the wheel in motion by delivering and setting up ten carecube.org caretech PC work stations at {code}bridge, a civic tech incubator in Cape Town.
The kitchen staff at Talefsig primary school have their hands full every morning where they cook over 100 meals for the pupils. Kitchens may be the creators of full happy tummies but with flammable liquids and gas, it is also a danger zone. We are excited to be able to have lent a helping hand by booking and paying for these wonderful women to attend a live fire demo over the December holidays. Soon they will have knowledge to put out hunger in small bellies and fires in small kitchens.
The SPCA Cape of Good Hope’s mobile team doesn’t blink twice at reacting to over 70 cruelty & distress calls each and every day. With a control room that’s open 24 hours a day, it is no wonder the organisation put out an equipment wish list to aid their mobile team members with items such as control poles, Leatherman tools and rescue nets. This month Carecube fulfilled the SPCA wish-list for the inspectorate department in collaboration with a private sponsor in Cleveland Ohio. Read more about the SPCA Inspectorate here
Last month Carecube stocked the kitchen supplies cupboard with one hundred 10kg bags of maize for the pupils of Tafelsig primary school. That’s just over 3 months of stock for this school in Mitchel’s Plain. Since our goal is to provide them with a full years supply we only have 9 months left to cover. Help us get there by sponsoring a bag today.
As if the water restrictions and rationing aren’t affecting us humans enough, it’s a dog eat dog world out there for our animal’s in the Western Cape. In a bid to provide some aid to animal welfare institutes Carecube has launched a water relief fund. Last week we delivered 500 liters to the AACL with the help of our friends at the Ashrome group. Support our initiative and sponsor a liter today!
Last month, help found its way to a family in Macassar with arguably the leakiest roof we’ve ever seen. They had been surviving off of pure ingenuity but a roof can only endure so many paint cans to catch the drips.
We’re excited to announce that our next first aid training workshop for school teachers will be taking place on the 28th of November! First aid training saves lives. We are are determined to reach our goal of empowering 100 school teachers with the basic skills to handle everyday medical emergencies on the playground and in the classrooms.
It’s a typical weekday morning and before the rest of us have rubbed the sleep from our eyes Monica has already begun preparing breakfast for the children of Tafelsig Primary School in Mitchels plain. 100 meals meet 100 happy mouths by 10am every morning. It’s initiatives like Monica and her teams’ that show how small acts of kindness can have a huge impact on a community. Carecube.org is a proud supporter of Tafelsig Primary School. A special thank you to our community representative Erefaan Pearce and Ashley Van Niekerk.
We are excited to announce that our Animal Hospital Project has officially been completed. Over the past three months carecube.org has provided state of the art medical equipment as well as coordinated a number of upgrades to the AACL Epping animal Hospital. We are thrilled to have been able to provide valuable support to Dr Hlalele and her team as they tackle the stresses of caring for the welfare of animals in the Western Cape. Thank you to our project grantors the Jowell Family, Ashrome Group, Lemon Tree Trust and Schmidt Family Office.
For more information about the Animal Anti Cruelty League and their initiatives please visit www.aacl.co.za
In South Africa specialized skills training is considered a luxury especially when many schools in lower income areas are struggling to keep the lights on, the water running and books on the shelves. Playgrounds are fun places but they aren’t just fun and games, things can go wrong very quickly.
Last month we held our first First Aid pop up work shop facilitated by Safetech, a registered health and safety organization. Without this kind of specialized training there is little capability to handle situations such as choking, epileptic attacks or wound care.
It is our ambition to empower schools through their teachers. Pop ups like this is an investment in our teachers to be the guardians of our children’s minds and their safety.
The team did a bit of shopping for an upcoming workday at Hearlands Baby Sanctuary with Jacques Becker our project representative. We hope that the lovely green paint that they chose will brighten up their wonderful facility in Somerset West. For more information about Heartlands and how you can get involved please visit their website at www.heartlands baby.org
Heartlands is a very special place for us. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the organization, Heartlands is located in Somerset West in the Western Cape and is a registered Child and Youth Care Centre and a Paediatric Hospice. They provide short term residential care for abandoned, abused, neglected children and children diagnosed with life limiting and life threatening illnesses such as Malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Tuberculosis and other illnesses.
Everybody needs a helping hand somewhere along the line, lend yours and donate to keep this wonderful team of people doing extraordinary things.
We are excited to announce that our Animal Hospital Project has officially been completed. Over the past three months carecube.org has coordinated a number of upgrades as well as provided state of the art medical equipment to the facility. It is our hope and ambition to make life a little easier for Dr Hlalele and her exceptional team as they tackle the stresses and struggles that comes with caring for the welfare of animals in the Western Cape.
carecube.org is pleased to announce that we have appointed MGI Bass Gordon as our independent auditors. The Cape Town based firm dates back to 1935 and has since grown to a firm of ten partners and over 100 personnel. Their commitment to quality, integrity and personal service truly resonated with us and we look forward to the journey with Susan van der Valk and her team.
carecube.org has been offered the opportunity to become a official charity partner for the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon. Not only does this mean we have the chance to put an amateur squad together for the marathon but it also gives us and the organisations we support the platform to receive more aid and assistance.
Inspired by the freezing temperatures that hit the southern regions of South Africa over the past weeks, this August carecube.org gifted 50 sleeping bags via an amazing organization called Street Sleeper. This innovative organization up-cycles discarded advertising billboards into durable sleeping bags for the homeless. For more information about their products and inspiring work please visit streetsleeper.org
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