A Soulful Movement is launched to assist local communities in Polokwane
Polokwane – Employees from Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) came together to officially launch their Soul Ambassador movement, consisting of a group of individuals who are passionate about giving back to their local communities in the form of time and donations. To officially kick off this launch, the new batch of Soul Ambassadors assisted at Mohlakaneng High School by distributing meals during lunch, cleaning, washing pots and also helping the school cooks with preparation for the following day’s meal.
Started in 2012, the Soul Ambassador Movement was created for employees who are passionate about the community and give of their own time to deliver positive change in the communities where the business operates. CCBSA supports these individuals by providing them with time outside of the office to execute projects as well as funding to implement the plan.
Soul Ambassadors are encouraged and supported to go into their own communities and make a difference, which was the case with Itumeleng Noko Mpati, CCBSA Warehouse Team Leader. Itumeleng suggested that the Soul Ambassadors assist Mohlakaneng High School with the supply of wooden pallets as well as providing assistance during lunch breaks. “I recommended this school because we had wooden pallets laying around and thought it would be a great idea to donate it to the schools as they could utilise it to cook. Being a Soul Ambassador has allowed me to give back to the community such as today’s chosen school and it’s for this reason that I signed up to be a part of the movement”, says Mpati.
After the employees had concluded with the tasks for the day, Mr Phaladi Silas, Head of Department at Mohlakaneng High School, was left with gratitude as a result of the company’s efforts. “We have seen some great things at the school today. They gave our leaners food, they helped with cleaning and even peeled carrots and chopped cabbages. Bravo to CCBSA and we hope that this is just the beginning of more things to come,” says Silas.
Corporate Citizenship is integral to CCBSA’s growth strategy and is seen as an enabler to achieving CCBSA’s commercial agenda. We aim to support and grow initiatives that enable us to develop our local communities, allowing us to form sustainable relationships with one of our key stakeholders which is our customers.
