Cell C has joined the fight against breast cancer with PinkDrive

Over the past five years, Cell C has been making a difference in the lives of South African women affected by Breast Cancerthrough their PinkDrive initiative. This grassroots-level campaign targets the country’s disadvantaged communities and brings aid and awareness.

PinkDrive has managed to raise enough funds to launch two trucks which serve as mobile clinics. The twin trucks offer free breast cancer testing, educational drives and mammograms for the communities visited monthly.

Since its inception, PinkDrive has tested 20 000 women for breast cancer – with an additional 40 000 educated on ways of detecting and treating the disease. The programme’s goal is to get more mobile clinics operating in every province.

Find out how you can contribute towards PinkDrive achieving its goals by clicking on the ‘Donate & Save a woman’ navigation tab.

Donate & save a woman in need

Make a difference ahead of Breast Cancer month by donating R10 towards PinkDrive’s life-saving initiative by texting ‘Breast’ to 38585; alternatively go to www.pinkdrive.co.za and click on the donate button to touch the lives of women living with  the disease.
 

PinkDrive High Coffees at Protea Hotel

PinkDrive invites you to its High Coffees event this October. Join other supporters in the fight against breast cancer for coffee and cake at participating Protea Hotels near you.

Don’t just place your booking – go further, get your company, book-club and support group to attend … this way more people get to walk away with invaluable insights from this extraordinary initiative!

For more information, please contact cecile@causemarketing.co.za

Truck Schedule

Find out when and where the PinkDrive mobile clinic trucks will be in your community.

The PinkDrive twin-trucks provide free breast cancer testing, education on breast cancer detection and treatment, as well as mammograms.

Download the Truck Shedule September to December

We want to do more than keep South Africa talking. We want to change the country for the better so we're investing in our future with various Corporate Social Investment initiatives. Our CSI strategy is outlined below.

Cell C Corporate Social Investment

Our CSI strategy is aligned to our business imperatives, government's national priorities and the Millennium Development Goals.

CSI Goals:

• To ensure measurable and sustained improvement to the lives of target beneficiaries,
• To draw on developmental outcomes as a means of demonstrating Cell C's adherence to good corporate citizenship principles,
• To maintain a conducive operating environment by building strategic partnerships with relevant government, corporate and civil society organisations
• To involve Cell C employees in community development initiatives, in order to assist in fostering a sense of pride in the company.

Guiding Principles:

Alignment to the business of Cell C, through:

• Linkages with the use of communication technology,
• Association to the corporate brand or market positioning.
• Alignment to government national priorities.

Focus Areas:

• Education ( Grade 7 -12 school level education)
• Development of Girls and Women
• HIV/Aids
•  Entrepreneurial Development

Our major flagship initiatives
Projects invested in include among others, our flagship Take a Girl Child to Work Day®, the Matric Revision Programme, Girl Achiever Bootcamp, the Cell C Career Choice Expo, Durban Music School and Employee Volunteerism.

"We cannot speak of genuine liberation without integrating within that, the emancipation of women." - President Nelson Mandela, 1994 inaugural speech.

 Eight years ago, Cell C introduced­­­­­­­­ Take a Girl Child to Work Day® to address the under-representa­­­­­­­­tion of women in the formal economy, more so in rare skills and the initiative­­­­­­­­ has enjoyed unrivalled­­­­­­­­ success ever since.

For one day every year, Cell C encourages­­­­­­­­ individual­­­­­­­­s and businesses­­­­­­­­ in the private and public sector to host Grade 10-12 girl learners and expose them to career opportunities within their sectors. By providing the platform for girl children to experience­­­­­­­­ the “world of work” firsthand, Cell C aims to expose them to the wide-range of opportunit­­­­­­­­ies that await them in the job market, as well as providing the chance to meet positive role models in their field of interest.

Change in project of format
Following the success of the project and after much considerat­­­­­­­­ion, Cell C has made the decision to change the format of the project and the manner in which it is conducted. 

The following changes will come into effect starting this year (2011):

• There will be No Formal Partnershi­­­­­­­­p option for the initiative anymore­­­­­­­­. 
• Only Supporting & Informal Partnership options will remain

These changes are introduced to facilitate the extension of the Matric Revision Programme - an initiative­­­­­­­­ introduced­­­­­­­­ in 2010, in order to improve the reach, impact and sustainability of the project in addressing some of the learning and teaching challenges­­­­­­­­ faced by thousands of learners and educators across the country. The Matric Revision Programme will now be extended to run as a year-long programme that benefits Grade 11 and 12 learners at 60 high schools, in 7 provinces. Click here for more on how to participate

2011 Theme: "Today a Girl, Tomorrow a Leader"
This year's theme recognises that given the opportunities, resources, necessary and appropriate support, every young girl has the potential to be a leader in their own right. It is a call to all our partners around South Africa to believe in the potential of every girl child­­­­­­­­, to expose them to opportunities and resources that exist within their organisations and to make these accessible to them.

The theme acknowledges the potential of girl children and provides an opportunit­­­­­­­­y for them to consider how the choices they make today will shape their future, their careers and change their circumstances.   

To view our endorsement letter from the department of education click here.

To view pictures from past Take a Girl Child to Work Days click here.

Calling all TGCWD alumni

Join the list of other girl learners who have participated in Cell C's Take a Girl Child to Work Day® over the years. Share your story with Cell C. We would like to hear and learn from your experience of Take a Girl Child to Work Day®. What impact did the experience have on your life and where are you today in terms of your studies, career and personal life? By sharing this information you will not only help Cell C assess the success of this initiative, but also inform our plans for the future.

How to participate for companies

There are two ways in which your organisations can participate in Take Girl Child to Work Day®:
 

Supporting partnership

• Companies registering as supporting partners will select, liaise and host schools of their own choice and also cater for their transportation.
• We encourage companies to partner with a school or schools from historically disadvantaged communities.
• Cell C will provide a certificate of participation for those organisations that register online

Informal partnership

• Companies registering as informal partners are encouraged to get their employees/staff to bring their girl children to work on Thursday, 26 May 2011
• To facilitated a smooth running of the project please download the check list

Cell C will no longer provide the following:

• Promotional materials for the learners visiting the various participating organisations
• Select and pair schools with participating organisations. Organisations will need to select a school of their choice and directly communicate with the school/s they want to host (e.g. a school that is already part of an organisation’s CSI programmes)
• Provide buses to transport for schools to and from participant\ting organisations;

How to participate for learners

Hey there!
The Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day® is dedicated to you. Each year Cell C provides you with the opportunity to learn more about the next steps toward your future career by allowing you to spend a day at work learning about all the career options available to you.

In partnership with various corporations, government departments and civic organizations, we open our doors to welcome you with a view to providing guidance as you make decisions that shape your future career choices. This opportunity enables you to actually see first-hand how the working world operates. Interested in jumping on board with this exciting project?

• Find out from your teacher if your school is involved in the project this year. If your school is not in a formal partnership, nothing stops you from asking your parents / neighbors / family members if you could accompany them to work on the day.
• Keep in mind though, that this adult has to get permission from their superiors before taking you along to work with them Take a Girl Child to Work Day®. Should they agree, provide your school teacher with a written request to participate on the day. You must also make sure that your parent/guardian has completed an indemnity form that would be given to the coordinators of Take a Girl Child to Work Day® at their place of work.
• Ask your principal (or a teacher) to approach a company with whom they have a good relationship or one that is nearby to your school and ask that company if they would host girls from your school.

 Certificate 2011

Guide for all participating companies

Checklist for participating companies

Checklist for participating Sshools

Indemnity form for parent/guardian

Indemnity form for own transport

The safety of the learner is of upmost importance to the success of project, companies are therefore urged to use safe and reputable transport companies when transporting learners to and from their offices and various locations they will visit as part of the day’s planned programme. 

The following are details of suppliers that Cell C has used previously­­­­­­­­:

Europcar Chauffeur Drive
Contact: Brigitte Schroeder (National Sales Manager)
Work: +27 11 396 1023
Email: brigitte@chauffeurdrive.co.za

Springbok Atlas
Contact: Kirstern Hubbard (Sales Executive)
Work: +27 11 396 1053
Email: Kirsten.Hubbard@springbokatlas.com

The Girl Achiever Bootcamp is a follow-up initiative of Take a girl child to work day.  The initiative is a 4-day camp that provides selected girl learners with the opportunity to learn more about career opportunities available to them in line with their current subject in mathematics, science and technology.

The camp activities­­­­­­­­ address some of the personal issues and challenges­­­­­­­­ faced by girl children and equip them with life skills that are needed for them to succeeding in managing and coping with these challenges. Our wish for the girls who attend the boot camp is for them to be inspired, encouraged­­­­­­­­, and affirmed. To be able to believe in themselves­­­­­­­­ and be inspired to aim for more than what is convention­­­­­­­­al.

For more please visit the Girl Achiever bootcamp Facebook Fan page

 The Girl Child Bursary Fund is an extension of Take a Girl Child to Work Day®aimed at affording qualifying and deserving girl learners the opportunity to pursue further education and training. Funds are raised through an SMS campaign, which encourages companies and the general public to support the initiative by SMSing the word "Girl" to 38060 at R10 per SMS. Cell C will match all contributions.

South Africa has a huge shortage of skills across the board, skills in science, technology and engineering are especially lacking. To study and become qualified in fields such as science, technology and engineering requires learners to excel in math and science, subjects in which many of our students do poorly.

Being the Possibilities Provider, Cell C will be running a year-long Maths & Science Programme to better address some of the learning and teaching challenges faced by thousands of learners and educators across the country.

Over 3000 grade 11 and 12 learners, from 60 schools in seven provinces, excluding Gauteng and Western Cape have been selected to be part of the programme.    

The programme, run by The Maths Centre, will provide the teachers and their learners with materials and training programmes which will develop a higher competency and performance; promote skills development in Maths, Science and Accounting. Focus will be given to the most important sections of the syllabus to intensify the analytical and problem solving skills that most learners lack. 

Key Aspects:-

• Pre-Assessment tests to determine learners’ performance levels
• Post–Assessment Tests and  final examinations results

Format of the programme:-

• Saturday School and After-school supplementary tuition
• Assistance with three priority or problem subjects per school (Mathematic, Physical Science and Accounting.
• Educator support and additional learning materials 
• Schools will be clustered and centers set up according to proximity and accessibility for learners
• Where necessary learners were transported to centers.

For more information on the projects, please visit

http://www.mcpt.org/maths-centre-news/107-cell-c-matric-revision-programme.html

Cell C has joined Nokia in the Mobile Maths Learning progr­­­­­­­­amme in a partnership that extends the use of mobile technology­­­­­­­­ to support and enhance mathematics teaching and learning beyond the classroom. The programme allows learners and teachers access to interactiv­­­­­­­­e mathematic­­­­­­­­s learning materials using Mxit as a mobile delivery platform.

The innovative use of mobile technology­­­­­­­­, which is easily accessible­­­­­­­­ to most South Africans learners to deliver curriculum­­­­­­­­ content in a very cost effective manner, makes it possible for schools, learners and educators in some of the most rural areas to benefit from the initiative. The programme will be extended from 4000 to 20 000 participating learners.

The programme is:-

• Aligned to the current South African curriculum for Grade 10 mathematics (minimal adaptation needed for CAPS).
• Contains theory and questions from a database of approximately 10,000 questions
• Contains topics and tests
• Content and tests are categorized by topic and degree of difficulty.
• Learners get immediate feedback
• Learners can compare results with their classmates in their school, in other provinces, and nationally.
• Is based on Moodle LMS

Partially funded by Cell C since 2003, the Durban Music School was founded by Werner Dannewitz, one of South Africa's most experienced and devoted music teachers, with the aim of providing affordable musical education to young people and developing the musical talent of the KwaZulu-Natal area.

The school is situated in central Durban and provides tuition in music theory and practice. Lessons are offered on diverse music genres including classical and jazz, and are open to young learners aged ten and upwards. Great effort is taken to cater for each student's own musical preferences, and each student is guaranteed personal attention. Music lessons are taught during evenings and over weekends, enabling students to continue their school and/or academic education without interruption. The majority of students come from disadvantaged family backgrounds and are funded through bursaries.

In addition to its annual Christmas Concert, the school also holds an annual Cell-C Street Festival which has over the years become a highlight of the Celebrate Durban initiative. Thanks to the ongoing support of Cell C, the future of South Africa looks, and sounds, that much brighter.

Contact the Durban Music School at +27 31 304 1001 or e-mail durbanmusicschool@iburst.co.za

 Cell C's support of education goes beyond the classroom. As an extension of the Take a Girl Child to Work Day®, the company introduced­­­­­­­­ the Career Choice Expo in 2007 as a three-year programme to address rural learners’ access to career information. Targeted at rural and disadvanta­­­­­­­­ged learners in grade 9 to 12, the project was run in some of the most remote rural schools within seven of the nine provinces.

Over its three year period, the project reached over 21 000 grade 9 to 12 learners from over 250 rural schools in 21 rural communitie­­­­­­­­s.  In total, 230 companies, government­­­­­­­­ department­­­­­­­­s, educationa­­­­­­­­l institutio­­­­­­­­ns and organisati­­­­­­­­ons participat­­­­­­­­ed as exhibitors­­­­­­­­ at these expos. The Expos incorporat­­­­­­­­ed face-to face interactions with exhibiting organisations, life skills for learners and career education guidance sessions for educators.

To view the Project Footprint, click here.
To view photos from past events click here.