The awards recognise both individual and team volunteers, with prize money donated to charity organisations where employees have been assisting throughout the year.
One of the employees is Benedict Mashile who tutors, motivates and mentors over 500 learners annually in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. "I am following in my mother's footsteps as she has been doing volunteer work all her life," said Mashile who was awarded LeadSA Hero in 2013. "I am passionate about maths and have always wanted to transfer my knowledge to learners, so I started tutoring learners at Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga while I was still at university."
At the age of 30, some of his students are already working while others are completing their tertiary studies. One of them is Tshepo Rakgoale whom he tutored and mentored while a learner at Lekete High School in Mpumalanga. Rakgoale is now an IT developer. He took Mashile out to lunch to thank him after receiving his first salary in September 2014.
Nedbank's Local Hero Programme provides Mashile with funding and support for the organisation where he volunteers. "As a bank for all, Nedbank believes that building social capital will lead to healthier communities and a stronger, more united nation," said Kone Gugushe, Divisional Executive: Corporate Social Investment (CSI). "We encourage all our employees to contribute to social upliftment. Around 1,700 of our employees make use of the two additional days of CSI leave annually to do volunteer work."
A study conducted by Statistics SA over a 3-month period revealed that 1.2 million people aged over 15 years old participated in volunteer activities. The study estimates that over a 12-month period, this would amount to a total of 379 hours, which if compensated would account for R7.5 billion. However, if compared to the size of the country's population, this means that the average national rate of volunteerism is about 3.5%.
"Active citizenship is about being involved in your community, having your say and taking part in decisions that affect you. This often means taking the opportunity to be actively involved in tackling the things that need to change around you. Some of this involvement requires a willingness to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or tangible gain, i.e. volunteerism," added Gugushe.
Over the past 12 years, Nedbank has invested over R30 million into its individual and team volunteerism programmes, with approximately 28% of the workforce participating in programmes each year, far above the national average of 3.5%.
In recent years, the bank has received a number of recognitions and awards for their role in CSI. The awards include the Socially Responsible Bank of the year (2014 and 2013), Sunday Times Corporate Social Investment (2013), BBQ CSI-Ubuntu in 2013 as well as ABSIP's company with most developmental impact (2014). In 2013, Nedbank was ranked first by corporates and second by non-profit organisations under the category of companies achieving the most developmental impact in survey by leading CSI organisation, Trialogue.
