The Woolworths Trust provides focus for Woolworths’ csi activity by:

• aligning our initiatives with national priorities;
• making capacity building core to our approach thus enabling more meaningful social transformation;
• forging meaningful partnerships with non-governmental organisations, government and media; and
• improving alignment of initiatives with our business strategy.

By 2012 a total direct contribution in excess of 300 million rand per year will have been made. The activities of the Woolworths Trust, and especially the involvement in Food and Trees for Africa’s Eduplant programme, will be extended. The MySchool educational programmes will be extended to include education on the environment in addition to the current curricula of nutrition and healthy living. In addition an awareness and fund-raising programme will be started in the stores to improve the plight of orphans and vulnerable children.

Food and clothing donations

Food and clothing is donated yearly to charities throughout the country. The food is distributed, via the stores, to local charities of their choice. The clothing is collected centrally and redistributed to needy charities across the country.

EduPlant programme

The Woolworths Trust EduPlant programme, in association with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Landcare and SABC Education, continues to be Woolworths’ flagship csi programme. (Started in 2002) Educators from schools across the country attend one-day workshops on food gardening using permaculture principles. Four-day workshops are held at schools in each province for parents and surrounding communities to reach more people in the community. Finalist schools are selected from this process. Entry into the programme is only the beginning – the ongoing benefits of this programme are experienced by the schools and their communities through improved food security, better health and nutrition and better understanding of environmental management.

MySchool

MySchool enables schools to raise funds through having parents, friends and family members purchase goods from Woolworths stores using their MySchool card. A percentage of their purchases is donated to the school of their choice. Since 2003, Woolworths has contributed in excess of R27.5m to the MySchool programme.

“Making the Difference” through nutrition

Currently 1 000 schools nationally participate in the Making a Difference programme, with one-third of these schools identified as being “underresourced” schools. Participating schools receive a teachers’ resource pack, which was developed in conjunction with the Western Cape Department of Education and the Sports Science Institute and includes seven learning modules covering health promotion, physical development and movement. An additional experiential component includes field trips to stores, suppliers and distribution centres, an Eduplant garden and parent talks.

“Making the difference” through design education

Woolworths launched the design education resource guide that is being used by educators in the further education and training subject in design – this replaces the current Senior Certificate examinations in various design-based disciplines and is one of the new choices to be offered in the learning field of Arts and Culture for Grades 10 -12. The “Making the difference” design module has been developed with input from some of South Africa’s leading designers and creative people and in association with the Department of Educatation, Design Indaba and Sappi.

Supporting South African Design

Woolworths continues to promote and support local, South African design through initiatives such as:

SA Young Designers at Woolworths

Since 2003 Woolworths has collaborated with some of South Africa’s bright young fashion designers including Maya Prass, Stoned Cherrie and Stephen Quatember featuring their clothing lines in select Woolworths stores; and

Design Indaba

Woolworths has sponsored the SA Design Indaba since 2002. The Design Indaba Expo – a three-day public showcase of the best original South African design – attracts over 15 000 visitors.

Wilderness leadership school

Processes from the sales of Woolworths’ spring water is donated to the Wilderness Leadership School to enable them to take children from disadvantaged areas on environmental education trips to Kirstenbosch and Table Mountain.