Inyathelo - The South African Institute for Advancement (SAIA) held its first Matric Giving Initiative workshop on 28 March 2006 in Green Point. This initiative is part of a pilot programme called YIPPSA (Youth in Philanthropy Programme South Africa), and is fully funded by Inyathelo - The South African Institute for Advancement.

 

The SAIA introduced the 11 month programme in February 2006 to five schools across the Western Cape. The aim of this programme is to create awareness, to inspire giving and promote social responsibility amongst youth in South Africa.

 

The workshop was attended by a teacher and two students representing the Grade 12s from St Andrews High School in Elsies River, Cape Town High School and Luhlaza High School in Khayelitsha. Unfortunately Langa High and Fezeka High School could not attend the workshop, but committed themselves to the programme. Follow-up briefing sessions were held at Langa High and Fezeka High to ensure that they remained in the programme.

 

The workshop was aimed at informing students about YIPPSA, introducing the concept of philanthropy and also encouraging them to be creative and innovative in approaching philanthropy. But to most of the students the highlight of the half-day workshop was the guest appearance by the South African actress Denise Newman, who currently features on local soapy "7de Laan". She chatted to them about the importance of philanthropy and explained why and how she gives back to the community.

 

Students left the workshop motivated and excited to tackle the task of raising funds for a local charity organisation in their community. A report-back workshop was planned for June to monitor the progress of the schools, and to exchange ideas and experiences.
 
The students are assigned to raise money for a charity organisation of their choice. The proceeds of this assignment will then be handed over to a representative of the particular charity organisation on the evening of their matric ball. Inyathelo will invite the media to highlight and capture each school’s contribution to the upliftment of their community.

 

An overall aim is to change the focus of the now institutionalised annual Matric Ball from a focus of simply enjoying in “indulgent partying” into an opportunity to leave a footprint at the school for new Matric classes to emulate.

 

YIPPSA will erect a Matric Giving board at each participating school. This will log the Matric Class Year, the amount raised and the name of the recipient charity. In so doing a new tradition will be established. The aim will be to involve more schools each year and spread the tradition across South Africa, in this way encouraging a sense of responsibility to promote the public good and nurturing a new generation of philanthropists.

 

Source: Inyathelo - The South African Institute for Advancement.

 

http://www.inyathelo.co.za

By Barry Smith, Regional Director, Southern Africa of The Synergos Institute
July 2006

 

To many, the term philanthropy connotes” charity" or vertical giving from rich to poor to alleviate the symptoms of poverty and inequality, rather than to change the structural, systemic marginalisation of the majority. Barry Smith points to the emerging practice of social justice philanthropy and suggests that we need multi-sectoral collaboration – and a cohesive social giving sector – to overcome South Africa's massive social deficits.This article was prepared for the 2006 edition of The CSI (Corporate Social Investment) Handbook produced by Trialogue.

The concept of a non profit organisation is a familiar one which has been widely used for many years, and is useful in highlighting the fact that a Non Profit Organisation (or NPO) registered in South Africa does not make financial profits for distribution to shareholders, rather using any income purely to carry out work in support of its social mission. But when you stop and think about it, "non profit" is a pretty negative term.

Research the causes or issues important to you.

Look for a group that works with issues about which you feel strongly. You might already be giving money to one of these organizations, and that might be a good place to begin your volunteer experience. If you can't find such an organization, here's a challenging and intriguing thought: why not start one yourself? You can rally your neighbours to clean up that vacant plot on the corner, patrol the neighbourhood, paint an elderly neighbour's house, take turns keeping an eye on the ailing person down the street, or form a group to advocate for a remedy to that dangerous intersection in your neighborhood. There is no end to the creative avenues for volunteering, just as there is no end to the need for volunteers.