Momentum employees uplifts society beyond financial assistance

Through the Momentum Metropolitan Lesedi Staff Volunteer Awards, the brand has  enabled employees to connect with communities and to realise their ambition in becoming fully engaged citizens.

As Lesedi winners, Momentum’s Admed team at Guardrisk, Tebogo Machaka, Thulani Dlamini and Sibusiso Mthembu did exactly this. Through its ‘You Care, We Care’ project, the team raised over R300k to rebuild society on three levels. Firstly, to help abandoned babies, toddlers and abused children at the New BeginningZ children’s home. Secondly, to help abandoned and abused township dogs with the NSPCA. And thirdly, to help improve STEM education in underprivileged communities through the Leap Science and Maths School.

Claims Assessor at Guardrisk, Sibusiso Mthembu said, “When the society around you is in need, it’s difficult to choose who to help first, so we chose three avenues that are close to our hearts. Knowing that we supported these organisations, not just financially, but to be there in person, to feel what they feel, was truly eye-opening.”

The donation to New BeginningZ helped distribute food parcels, educate and support the abandoned babies, toddlers and abused children in the home. New BeginningZ is a member of The Tshwane Alliance for Street Children (TASC), an umbrella organisation for Residential, Non-Residential, Outreach, Prevention and Early Intervention programmes. Although it does not have a residential care facility for children living, working and begging on the streets, it does put the children it encounters in touch with the various member shelters of TASC.

For the NSPCA, the team chose to donate to the Special Investigations Unit in an effort to tackle brutal underground dog fighting rings. On top of the donation, the GaurdriskAdmed team went out into areas of the local community where dog fighting had been flagged as a problem. Together with the dedicated members of the Special Investigations Unit, the team was able to help educate and inform community members about the NSPCA and to bring their dogs in should they need any help and to report dog-related criminal activities in the area.

For Leap Science and Maths School, the Momentum Admed team used Mandela Day 2019 to assist in giving high school learners in the most marginalised of communities a fighting chance to excel in Maths, Science and English. “Besides the R120 000 donation from the previous year, we were also able to teach the kids about self-awareness and confidence, which is a skill set that too many schools forget to teach our children – and it’s where we can really see the impact and change we can effect for those who need it most, “said Mthembu.

Going forward, Gaurdrisk’s Admed team will continue to support these organisations in any way they can and encourages all South Africans to  do the same. “We are one society, so let’s pull together as one,” said Mthembu. “You never have to walk far from your home before you find a person, an animal, or an organisation in need of your support. Every bit helps.”

Launched in 2016, the Lesedi Awards are aimed at recognising and celebrating the volunteer work that MMI employees and business units do in their communities. In line with their values, Momentum believes that volunteering should be purposeful, where volunteers strive to work with communities to provide services needed by the community. The Lesedi Awards are also an important way in which Momentum engages with its  employees. Momentum wants to work with individuals with a social awareness, who share in their purpose of enabling people from all walks of life to achieve their financial goals and life aspirations.