Every year, people in South Africa come together to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela, and this year is super special as the world marks 100 years of a man whose smile and determination changed the world forever.
Our 11 hotels across South Africa joined to salute the legacy that Madiba started 100 years ago. Even though he was locked up in prison for 27 years, he never gave up on his activist spirit or his determination to end racial discrimination in South Africa and around the world.
Mandela Day comes at an ideal time for all South Africans and for everyone standing strong to advocate for diversity, inclusion, and the end of discrimination of any kind.
Following Radisson Hotel Group’s 2018 Community Action Month, our teams across South Africa focused their special activities on marking Mandela Day by helping the local branches of SOS Children’s Villages.
Here’s how our South Africa hotel teams did their bit to help their local communities on Mandela Day 2018 :
Cape Town
Six hotels in Cape Town came together to create care packs filled with useful items such as t-shirts, shaving kits, candles and matches. Having put together 500 of these packs (and gathered 50 blankets), the teams headed out into the city to hand them out to those in need – while making their way to the local SOS Children’s Village.
Each of the hotel teams in Cape Town has adopted a home within the village, which they help to maintain – either through repairs, donated furniture or new bedding. For Mandela Day, the teams donated a range of household items – from kitchen utensils to bathroom essentials – bringing all of these things along with them to give to the SOS Children’s Village in Cape Town .
Johannesburg
The three hotels in Johannesburg handed out care packs en route to their local SOS Children’s Village. This saw them donate a wide range of essential items, including fruit, vegetables, soap, shampoo, and even laundry detergent. That wasn’t all, though. The teams received a large collection of sandwiches, chocolates and juice boxes from their local Thomas Sabo store – all of which they were able to take to the children at the city’s SOS Children’s Village.
The donation drive from our teams in Johannesburg was quite remarkable. As well as the other items, they managed to gather useful things like hand towels, bottled water and coloring books (with crayons of course). Their efforts meant they had plenty of items to give out – allowing them to also make donations and take lunch to the 67 children and six teachers at the local Thandulwazi Day Care Center .
Polokwane
The Park Inn by Radisson Polokwane team spent Mandela Day out and about in the city, handing out care packs, sandwiches and generally taking the time to get to know their local community. This saw them stop by Jack Botes Park and Seshego Circle before heading to the Makgona Drop-In Centre – where the team served everyone there with a hearty samp and beef stew.
The hotel also donated clothing and snacks to the center, but their biggest contribution was to cover the play area with a new layer of river sand to create a softer, safer surface for the children to play on. It was a wonderful day, where the team spent time together, connecting with those around them .
Port Elizabeth
One day wasn’t enough for the Radisson Blu Hotel, Port Elizabeth team to celebrate Mandela’s centenary – so they spent a whole week working with their local community. This saw them help a different beneficiary every day, providing support for Gelvan Park Old Aged Home, Northwood Children’s Hospice, Happydale Hope Youth, P.E. Mental Health, Capricorn House and Save a Pet.
The hotel team received a wide range of donations, featuring toiletries, arts and crafts materials, plants, seeds, and pet food – all while encouraging people to donate money towards raising R100,000 that will provide even more help for the different charities .
“Responsible Business is at the heart of our company’s promise of making every moment matter,” said William McIntyre, Regional Director, Africa, Radisson Hotel Group. “This means that we support and give back to the communities in which we operate – focusing in particular on our partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, which allows us to provide food, shelter and a better future for the most vulnerable children in the world.”
Our Mandela Day activities are all part of the Radisson Hotel Group mission to establish meaningful relationships with the SOS Children’s Villages in the countries its 1,100 hotels operate in. Well done to everyone who took part – we’re proud to partner with SOS Children’s Villages and do everything we can to support our local communities.
#Bethelegacy
