Getting into the spirit of Mandela Day 2019 #ActionAgainstPoverty, over 600 staff members from LexisNexis South Africa’s six regional offices put their hands to a variety of different projects in honour of our national hero, Nelson Mandela’s birthday.

“Giving back is not something we do only once a year at LexisNexis,” says Billy Last CEO of LexisNexis South Africa. “Traditionally we undertake our RE Cares Month in October, as part of our global community outreach programme, but being a part of Mandela Day is very meaningful for us as it is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the sacrifices that Madiba made for our country, for equality, for education and in the fight against poverty.”

Head office staff in Morningside, Durban partnered with Bhambayi Project and spent their morning making sandwiches before spending time interacting with the children housed at the creche. Financial assistance has been pledged to assist the project with the building of a structure to house their school leavers and young children.

The Johannesburg office collected new and gently-worn baby items and spent Mandela Day putting together packs of baby supplies which they delivered to LivLanseria this year. Liv Lanseria houses orphans and vulnerable kids up to the ages of 18 years old.

Partnering with Learning in Reach, the Cape Town team helped wrap learning books for their learners. Learning in Reach recognises the need to prioritise early childhood development and provides an inclusive solution to the challenges faced by these programmes, including infrastructure, educational resources, teacher training and administrative support such as facility registration.

Research has shown that lack of access to feminine hygiene products results in underprivileged girls missing up to 50 days of school per year. Caring4Girls distributes sanitary towels to adolescent girls to enable them to continue attending school during their monthly cycle. In East London employees took to the street in a walk-a-thon at Nahoon Beach to raise awareness for the Trek4Mandela and Caring4Girls initiative.  LexisNexis’ National Deployment Manager Lee-Ann King and Executive Manager for Strategic Alliances & Partnerships, Mari van Wyk will participate in the Trek4Mandela 2019 Woman’s Day Summit on the 9th of August, along with Advocate Thuli Madonsela to raise further funds for this initiative.

This year the Port Elizabeth office joined forces with LoveStory to assist the organisation in feeding up to 250 disadvantaged people at the City Hall on Mandela Day. LoveStory was established in 2012 to meet the needs of the poor and marginalised and restore hope through feeding schemes, education programmes, clothing distribution and poverty alleviation.

Bloemfontein staff came dressed comfortably to help realise the dreams of children that are part of the Reach for a Dream programme. Reach for a Dream encourages children to fight life-threatening illnesses by making their dreams come true. 

LexisNexis supports employee and corporate engagement that makes a positive impact on society through volunteerism and giving. Each year employees spend their 67 minutes involved in regional activities that make a difference. LexisNexis also gives its employees two days off to volunteer for charitable organisations. This encompasses business-sponsored volunteer activities and charitable fundraising events, in-kind charitable donations and RE Cares activities.

For more on Lexis Nexis South Africa’s Corporate Social Responsibility, visit https://www.lexisnexis.co.za/about/corporate-responsibility