Edcon cares for disadvantaged communities
Casual Day is a fundraising project benefiting persons with disabilities.
EDCON celebrated the first anniversary of the three year Casual Day sponsorship toward disadvantaged communities, on September 6.
Edcon, the largest non-food retailer in South Africa and principal sponsor of South Africa’s National Casual Day, a flagship fundraising initiative of the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa (NCPPDSA), today celebrated its first anniversary of this critically important annual event.
The initiative aims to improve education, impulsivity, accessibility and social integration for persons with disabilities. Edcon has supported Casual Day for over five years as retail seller of the Casual Day stickers and has now committed itself to a three year sponsorship of the Casual Day campaign from 2013 to 2015. The sponsorship is expected to generate an estimated R11 million for Casual Day over the sponsorship period, with R6 million raised from ticket sales at all Edcon stores in addition to the R5 million sponsorship contribution to the project.
Casual Day initiative strives to create awareness about persons with disabilities, opportunities for corporate comradeship, community support and welfare organisation participation. Edcon’s involvement in the project forms part of its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) commitment to partner with both government and other companies to contribute positively towards enriching the lives of disadvantaged communities in SA.
The proceeds generated from the sale of Casual Day stickers and other merchandise is donated to the campaign beneficiaries, including the National Council of Persons with Disabilities, SA Federation of Mental Health, SA National Council for the Blind, Disabled People SA, the DeafSA Federation, and Epilepsy SA.
Mr Bruno Druchen, National Director of DeafSA, as well as representatives from NCPPDSA beneficiary organisations, including the National Institute for the Deaf, the SA National Deaf Association, and Children from the School for the Deaf were on-hand to celebrate the anniversary with Edcon. Mr Druchen commented, “Edcon has been a solid supporter of the annual Casual Day Campaign for many years and last year it agreed to become the anchor funder for the project for three years. By doing so, it is demonstrating its commitment to being a caring corporate citizen in an effort to make a meaningful difference to our lives. We are very grateful for this assistance and I can assure you that the funding has been allocated toward many worthy causes and has had a tremendous impact on many, many people.”
In her welcome address, Ms Mercia Maserumule, Edcon’s Group CSI Manager, said, “In addition to this initiative, Edcon is also a proud sponsor to various other worthy causes. We fully understand our responsibility towards the development and upliftment of the communities in which we trade and we are committed to contributing towards making a difference. Apart from Casual Day, other initiatives include a donation of merchandise to the value of over R10-million worth of store merchandise annually to more than 220 non-profit organisations working with disadvantaged communities across South Africa.”
These organisations work with orphaned and vulnerable children, the unemployed, children’s homes as well as people with disabilities. Major beneficiary organisations include, but are not limited to, the Salvation Army, the SOS Children’s Villages, The National Council of Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa and the Clothing Bank.
Casual Day is a fundraising project benefiting persons with disabilities. Each year South Africans are encouraged to dress in casual clothes on the first Friday of September and to wear the Casual Day sticker to show their support for persons with disabilities.
