Silverstar staff support the community on Mandela Day
Mandela Day 2019 once again dawned as a busy one for Silverstar Casino staff volunteers who set out to make a difference in their community – building a playground at Munsieville Primary, collecting and distributing groceries in an informal settlement in Munsieville, knitting and sewing beanies and scarves, donating and helping out at an animal shelter, packing meals at Rise Against Hunger, and more.
A project of great joy for Grade RR children of Munsieville Primary School was the building of an exciting playground at the school’s ECD centre, which was established earlier this year with Silverstar’s support. A team from the casino, including maintenance department staff, transformed the area into a wonderland of play, full of climbing and playing equipment, with a jungle gym, slide, sandpit, and much more, to the value of R158,000.
Anneke Potgieter, Silverstar Operations Director and Complex GM, says, “Until now, the Grade RR class at Munsieville didn’t have an appropriate playground for the children to enjoy and develop their large motor muscles, needed for whole body movement and core development. We believe this playground will add value and skills into those young lives.”
Silverstar also joined forces with Community Policing Forum Sector 4 and launched a food collection drive in June to distribute food parcels to households in Pongoville, an informal settlement in Munsieville, on Mandela Day. Potgieter says the food drive was launched to provide much-needed sustenance into homes and to show the community that people care.
A second Silverstar and CPF Sector 4 Mandela Day initiative supported the 9th Day Animal Shelter, a rescue, rehabilitation & rehome centre for dogs and cats. A collection of pet food and blankets started in June, and on Mandela Day, 10 Silverstar employees handed over the collected items and helped out at the shelter, mending and painting fences, cleaning kennels, bathing and walking the dogs.
Another Silverstar initiative that started weeks ago for Mandela Day is the knitting and sewing of beanies and scarves for under-privileged primary school children. The Silverstar knitters aimed at knitting five beanies and five scarves each, to be donated to children on Mandela Day for added protection against the harsh highveld winter.
Two teams from Silverstar also joined the massive Rise Against Hunger meal packing initiative at Sandton Convention Centre, joining many other Tsogo Sun volunteers from properties in Johannesburg, and packing meals to be distributed through ECD Connect, a results-oriented nutrition programme, which monitors and evaluates the children’s progress to ensure maximum impact.
Potgieter adds, “Silverstar is focused on being responsive to need in the community, which is backed up by strong support from Silverstar staff who are invested in making a sustainable and positive difference in many lives in our community. CSI is integrated into our business strategy and we embrace our responsibility to play a role in the social, economic and environmental well-being of our area.”
