To share festive goodwill and to mark International Volunteer Day on December 5, Micro Focus employees in South Africa teamed up to support The Frida Hartley Shelter for destitute women and children in Johannesburg.
As part of their Micro Focus INSPIRE volunteering efforts, the team of 20 employee volunteers, led by CSR Ambassador Allyson Towle, Country Marketing Manager, SMME Partner Business Manager & AMC Steward for Emerging, and Tany Govender, Renewal Sales, put together an impactful program for the shelter, which takes in homeless women and their children who have endured neglect, abuse and homelessness.
The volunteers visited the shelter on Thursday, 3 December – maintaining safe COVID-19 social distancing – to deliver much needed food packages, a hot meal and a collection of second-hand clothes for the women and children. Each child received a gift purchased by Micro Focus employees – along with an extra surprise as volunteers organised a face-painting session for the children during their visit.
In addition, Jo Chalmers, Territory Account Executive at Micro Focus South Africa and a well-respected motivational speaker, joined the visit and also took the opportunity to talk with the women about their future career prospects and the importance of digital skills in every aspect of their lives, and their children’s.
Gary de Menezes, Managing Director, Micro Focus South Africa, said: “I am immensely proud of the team wanting to make a difference to the lives of others. The Frida Hartley Shelter provides tremendous support to women who have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. COVID-19 has negatively impacted support for the shelter, so we are delighted to be able to help these women to kick-start their lives.”
The Frida Hartley Shelter is a non-profit organisation that aims to empower women, through providing accommodation, psycho-social support, employment, and training. It also provides nutrition and childcare to the children housed at the shelter with their mother. This allows mothers the time they need to focus on looking for employment. In addition, the shelter offers free job-skills training, accommodation up to six months, three meals a day, monthly toiletries, counselling, life skills training, entrepreneurial skills training and referrals to workplace. The aim is to enable mothers to regain their dignity by becoming independent of the shelter, in order to adequately support themselves and their children.
