Corporate Social Investment

GROUP

The Datatec Education and Technology Trust was established in March 2000 with an initial grant allocation of R10 million from the Company. During the current year under review an additional grant allocation of R10 million was issued to ensure theGroup’s ongoing investment in corporate and social responsibility.

The principal ideal of the Trust is to grow SA’s mathematics, science and technology talent, with a primary focus on providing sustainable infrastructure dedicated to developing these skills. The Group believes that this development, at grassroots level, provides a platform from which SA can build its expertise in fields such as mathematics, science and technology.

To date, the Trust has invested in six community-based projects:

• The Centre for Innovation, established at Hilton College in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands, provides the surrounding community with mathematics, science, entrepreneurship and computer skills training and is utilised by many schools as well as Protec, a national organisation involved in technology skills training within disadvantaged communities

• The Maths Centre, a national organisation dedicated to the upliftment of the standard of mathematics, science and technology teaching in government schools. The Maths Centre has put together a vibrant and practical hub for learning these three disciplines using ICT resources. It serves as a resource base for the empowerment of teachers of mathematics, science and technology and all the courses are accredited with several universities ensuring professional
  development of teachers

• The Siyakhula Bridging School, situated in an economically depressed area between Ivory Park and Ebony Park, teaches basic computer literacy skills to local area residents from a refurbished property that has been turned into an Education and Community Centre. Many of the residents who were previously unemployed have been able to find employment as a result of their newly acquired skills

• Digital Hope focuses on bridging the digital divide in disadvantaged schools. Digital Hope converts 12 metre shipping containers into IT laboratories providing space for 15 to 30 networked PCs. Datatec has funded deployment of two DigiTainers, one in Gauteng and the other in KwaZulu-Natal, which work in conjunction with the Vula outreach programme of which Datatec is already a sponsor. Not only does the DigiTainer serve the surrounding disadvantaged schools, it also serves as a training facility for teachers as well as an adult education centre for the various upliftment projects rolled out in the area

• Oliver’s House has been established to uplift and assist a number of economically deprived communities in the Benoni CBD and surrounding areas. Among other activities they provide a free after-school education service to learners and the community. Tuition includes five matric subjects as well as computer literacy and adult literacy classes

• Education Alive is part of Applied Scholastics International and provides training to teachers, educators, parents, learners and college students in disadvantaged communities across the country. They have established the Education Alive Training Centre in Cape Town. This centre will provide tuition to learners whose marks in maths, science and technical subjects are poor. It also provides literacy to non-literate individuals

LOGICALIS

Consistent with the Logicalis group’s decentralised structure, the policy is to encourage its operations to make their own contribution to the communities within which they work. Not only does this approach ensure operational buy-in at a local level, but it also means that monies are fed directly into the community and the causes that might otherwise be overlooked directly benefit. All employees are encouraged to bring suitable opportunities to local management for review. The following is a list of just some of these initiatives.

US: Donations and volunteers for fund raising events for the following: Lance Armstrong Foundation (for cancer research), Arthritis Foundation, Arby's Foundation (Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America) which provides help to children who have lost a parent, Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Metropolitan Detroit and American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina victims.

UK: Logicalis UK has committed to making annual donations for five years to the Berkshire Community Foundation, an independent charity supported by a number of major companies, which provides grants to small local voluntary groups that tackle needs at the grassroots of the community. For example the Foundation supports children and young people with special needs, people with a long-term disability, elderly people, the homeless and people with mental health needs.

ANALYSYS MASON

Analysys Mason group focuses on local charities, many of which have personal connections to members of staff, for example Save the Children and Francis House/Rainbow Trust. Recent events have included a sponsored football tournament, swimathon, quiz nights and Analysys Mason’s own on-line auction. Analysis Mason also sponsors national charity events such as Comic Relief and Jeans for Genes.

As a medium-sized employer in Greater Manchester, Mason provides work experience and placement opportunities to a handful of school leavers and university students each year and also provides a bursary to a local university. Analysys also offers internships to a number of university students.

Analysys Mason encourages its employees to “put something back” into the community and many work with local charities and children’s sporting clubs.