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Shoprite introduces Help-Change-a-Life Initiative to Lagos
- By Ikem Okuhu
- Published January 11th, 2011
- BrandWorld
- Unrated
SHOPRITE, the leading supermarket across Africa with a growing presence in Nigeria , has continued its humanitarian efforts as it introduces its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative tagged ‘Help-Change-a-Life’ to Lagos. This initiative is a continuation of previous charity projects Shoprite has been involved since it entered Nigeria in 2005.
The Help-Change-a-Life initiative is Shoprite and its customers’ way of contributing and giving back to the community in which it operates. Shoprite provides a platform for its customers to contribute to the needs of the greater community by simply collecting change from any of its willing customers. The initial response has been overwhelming – proving once again that our customers would like to join Shoprite in supporting the plight of those less fortunate.
In November Shoprite chose two deserving charity institutions to benefit from the proceeds of the collections at their Lekki and Surulere branches. The first contribution emanated from the Surulere branch, which amounted to a donation of N108, 513. It went to The Orphan Youths Group of Nigeria in conjunction with Kiddies Talent Hunt, an NGO that is concerned with the creation of a platform where orphaned youths are tutored and encouraged to unearth the hidden talents within them. The Lekki branch also handed over the sum of N187, 750 to the Nigerian Red Cross Society’s Motherless Babies Home in the Adekunle area of Yaba, Lagos . Speaking to our reporter during the Surulere handing over ceremony in Lagos , Mr. Andrew Mubanga Mweemba, Branch Manager, said “We thought we should continue our involvement in supporting the community and by being a part of community development, we are actually fulfilling our own social responsibility.”
The choice for the institution was borne out of merit and outstanding dedication to the cause of salvaging the plight of the less privileged, which coincides with Shoprite’s own commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility.
Shoprite places ‘Help-Change-a-Life” boxes strategically in its branches and customers who are willing to touch a life, drop in their own contribution. It is counted at the end of the month with Shoprite also adding its own contribution before handing it over to the identified institutions.
“This will be our first collection from the month of November 2010 and we will continue to do this as long as we are here. At the end of every month, we collect and count our customers’ contributions before choosing the charity that we would like to give the money to,” Mweemba said.
Explaining customers’ attitude towards the initiative, he said “Well, some customers I spoke to liked the idea as they feel they can be part of this community development effort. They appreciate the fact that we are not just selling but are also giving back to the local communities. At Lekki, we have supported a lot of charities and as we are now in Surulere we want to continue with the tradition because it has been part of us since we’ve arrived Nigeria .”
Receiving the cheque on behalf of Motherless Babies’ Home, Yaba Matron Mrs. Juliana Obanife and Mr. Innocent Egburefu, account officer were grateful and thanked Shoprite for the kind gesture. They recalled the gift donation from Shoprite to the kids at the home in June 2010 and prayed for the continued growth of the group in Nigeria
In the same vein, Godfrey Odamah, the Shoprite branch Manager at the Lekki store, expressed his delight at the response of the shoppers to the cause and promised the continued support from Shoprite to touching the lives of the less privileged in the society.
Mrs. Titilola Bamdele, a school teacher and shopper at the store applauded Shoprite’s give-back-to society initiative and urged other corporate organizations that do not inculcate the habit of giving to the society to borrow a leaf from Shoprite. She said, “You don’t wait until your organisation becomes a multi-billion naira corporation before you can think of helping the society. Shoprite’s strategy is one way of doing so.”
It would be recalled that Shoprite recently restructured its operation to accommodate the expansion strategy in Nigeria by appointing local Nigerian managers to manage its store operations. Shoprite also announced that more jobs will be created in the New Year with the opening of stores in Enugu , Ikeja and Ilorin .
The Help-Change-a-Life initiative is Shoprite and its customers’ way of contributing and giving back to the community in which it operates. Shoprite provides a platform for its customers to contribute to the needs of the greater community by simply collecting change from any of its willing customers. The initial response has been overwhelming – proving once again that our customers would like to join Shoprite in supporting the plight of those less fortunate.
In November Shoprite chose two deserving charity institutions to benefit from the proceeds of the collections at their Lekki and Surulere branches. The first contribution emanated from the Surulere branch, which amounted to a donation of N108, 513. It went to The Orphan Youths Group of Nigeria in conjunction with Kiddies Talent Hunt, an NGO that is concerned with the creation of a platform where orphaned youths are tutored and encouraged to unearth the hidden talents within them. The Lekki branch also handed over the sum of N187, 750 to the Nigerian Red Cross Society’s Motherless Babies Home in the Adekunle area of Yaba, Lagos . Speaking to our reporter during the Surulere handing over ceremony in Lagos , Mr. Andrew Mubanga Mweemba, Branch Manager, said “We thought we should continue our involvement in supporting the community and by being a part of community development, we are actually fulfilling our own social responsibility.”
The choice for the institution was borne out of merit and outstanding dedication to the cause of salvaging the plight of the less privileged, which coincides with Shoprite’s own commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility.
Shoprite places ‘Help-Change-a-Life” boxes strategically in its branches and customers who are willing to touch a life, drop in their own contribution. It is counted at the end of the month with Shoprite also adding its own contribution before handing it over to the identified institutions.
“This will be our first collection from the month of November 2010 and we will continue to do this as long as we are here. At the end of every month, we collect and count our customers’ contributions before choosing the charity that we would like to give the money to,” Mweemba said.
Explaining customers’ attitude towards the initiative, he said “Well, some customers I spoke to liked the idea as they feel they can be part of this community development effort. They appreciate the fact that we are not just selling but are also giving back to the local communities. At Lekki, we have supported a lot of charities and as we are now in Surulere we want to continue with the tradition because it has been part of us since we’ve arrived Nigeria .”
Receiving the cheque on behalf of Motherless Babies’ Home, Yaba Matron Mrs. Juliana Obanife and Mr. Innocent Egburefu, account officer were grateful and thanked Shoprite for the kind gesture. They recalled the gift donation from Shoprite to the kids at the home in June 2010 and prayed for the continued growth of the group in Nigeria
In the same vein, Godfrey Odamah, the Shoprite branch Manager at the Lekki store, expressed his delight at the response of the shoppers to the cause and promised the continued support from Shoprite to touching the lives of the less privileged in the society.
Mrs. Titilola Bamdele, a school teacher and shopper at the store applauded Shoprite’s give-back-to society initiative and urged other corporate organizations that do not inculcate the habit of giving to the society to borrow a leaf from Shoprite. She said, “You don’t wait until your organisation becomes a multi-billion naira corporation before you can think of helping the society. Shoprite’s strategy is one way of doing so.”
It would be recalled that Shoprite recently restructured its operation to accommodate the expansion strategy in Nigeria by appointing local Nigerian managers to manage its store operations. Shoprite also announced that more jobs will be created in the New Year with the opening of stores in Enugu , Ikeja and Ilorin .
