Cape Town International Airport grants R1.5M to seven flagship beneficiaries from communities in its vicinity

2013-08-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — Airports Company South Africa, Cape Town International Airport (ACSA CTIA) prides itself in giving back to communities. The airport handed over R1.5 million today to seven flagship beneficiaries. These beneficiaries are selected according to the company’s strategic Corporate Social Investment pillars.

The airport took its management team and staff volunteers on a tour of three beneficiaries and the tour ended at the HUBSPACE in Khayelitsha. This allowed beneficiaries to showcase what they have done over the past year with funds that they have received from the airport and how they will use the funds received today.

“Our initiatives are aimed at achieving and sustaining a positive social progression in our communities, by ensuring that there is meaningful transformation in benefiting those who are around us,” said Deborah Francis, acting Communications Manager at Cape Town International Airport.

The beneficiaries which the airport has funded focus on Education, Health and Family wellbeing as well as vegetable or food pods, animal welfare and recycling programmes. “We visited various Non -Profit Organisations which we have funded on the day of the cheque handover, to see the impact and difference which we have made and how we can help further,” added Cloete.

The recipients who will received funds at the Hubspace are: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to All Animals ( SPCA),which focuses on improving the health and well-being of pets and their owners, TRAC, a school based programme focusing on improving children’s exposure to mathematics, science and technology, Heart Capital, which supports a food pods project which enables disadvantaged communities to get access to fresh vegetables- “The Food Pods project is a 36m area with 100 pods (fresh vegetable crates). This space offers franchises opportunities to sell the vegetables to the community. This Food Pods produces 9600 bunches of vegetables per month. This space has created 8 full time entrepreneurs,” added Francis.

Other organisations we support are the Beyond Education, a Recycle Swop Shop, a place where children can swap bags of recyclable items for essentials such as books, pens, clothing, shoes, toiletries and deodorants. Learn to Earn which develops skills for individuals to start their own businesses and Living through Learning which is a literacy programme run in seven disadvantaged schools in Cape Town.

“The upliftment of the airport’s immediate surrounding communities is important to us and in achieving this we have to ensure that whatever support we give leads to self-reliant and sustainable projects which benefits the people living in these communities. We also recently spent over R200 000 in an outreach programme which benefited 20 organisations in the airport’s neighbouring communities and will spend another R250 000 shortly in support of organisations recommended by our staff,” concluded Francis.

Continue to provide us with your feedback, visit www.airports.co.za.

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