Festive thanks #charity

Here we are, on the cusp of 2018. In this post, our last one for the year, we want to share the charities we have chosen to support this festive season.

1. The Tomorrow Trust

Education and life skill development are the essential ingredients to sustainable development and poverty reduction. Education can have long-lasting effects on South Africans and their communities. But according to Brand South Africa, illiteracy rates currently stand at 18% for adults over the age of 15, leading to a high rate of unemployment among South Africans. This dilemma is compounded by low participation in higher education, with only 16% of 18-24-year olds being accepted to universities.

An inadequate education still persists for the majority of people in our country. Tomorrow Trust is committed to changing the stats and altering the course of education in South Africa.

How? They provide holistic support to orphaned and vulnerable children/youth through their educational journey, enabling them to make choices, and empowering them to reach their full potential as self-sustaining and proactive members of society. They value respect and tolerance, family values, and teamwork. They teach these principles to our students at the same time as we practice them in our every day work. They empower students to reach their full potential while creating strong, thriving communities, from their earliest years until they are program alumni.

Core to their philosophy is the belief that a HAND UP empowers and emancipates South African youths from poverty, whereas a HAND OUT that keeps them entrenched in charity. "Giving them the tools and skills they need to survive and thrive in the 21st century, our graduates are empowered to reach their full potential as self-sustaining and proactive members of society."

Education is the most sustainable option to provide professional opportunities, and to improve socio-economic conditions. Once a Tomorrow Trust student graduates from college, they are fully prepared for a career in their field of study. Providing students with a fulfilling career strengthens their communities and their economy. Graduates go on to support their entire family, bringing parents, siblings, aunts, and uncles out of poverty.

All Tomorrow Trust students are required to give back to younger students and to their community. They learn how their actions can improve their community and bring about a stronger South Africa. As communities become more educated, economies thrive, jobs increase, and poverty rates decline.

Poor education is the root of many societal issues throughout the world. By supporting the Tomorrow Trust, you put faith in South African youth and create the opportunity for students, their families, and their communities to build fulfilling futures.

Funding a South African youth promises them individualized schooling throughout their educational journey, which can bring them and their entire family out of poverty. Helping one student can truly help an entire community.

This year, Tomorrow Trust has our support. Please visit their site to see what inspired us to make a donation: http://www.tomorrow.org.za/

2. Epic Foundation

Here is another inspiring organisation, dedicted to empowering survivors of rape and abuse.

"We live in a society where people often find themselves in difficulty due to trauma, crime, unemployment and other circumstances beyond their control. Everyone has the right to be given assistance to help work through these hard times and to be empowered to uplift their lives. It is our mission to put projects and tools in place to make this possible for men, women and children."

Founded by Alta McMaster at the beginning of 2013, Alta has been managing projects for rape survivors and others in the Gauteng area since 2011, specifically the Comfort Pack Project. She has established a wide network for distributing these bags, ranging from small Victim Empowerment Centres that are linked to the police stations, to larger rape crisis/trauma centres. But there are many other projects they steer, and we encourage you to take a look at some of them here:
http://www.epicfoundation.org.za/web/our-projects.asp

This year, Epic Foundation has our support.

Do you have a charity that inspires you? Share it with us so that we can give good guys some profile.

We wish you all a relaxed and joyous festive season!

The Ripcord Promotions Team.