First-year students in the Department of Office Management and Technology donated almost R250 000 to the Children’s Hospital Trust over the past five years.
As part of their Business Administration 1 syllabus, students embark on an entrepreneurship project in which they are required to raise funds for the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
Having raised almost R250 000 for the hospital, CPUT now has plaques on the hospital’s donor walls.
“I think this is a major achievement not only for the students but for the Faculty of Business and the Institution as a whole,” says lecturer Belinda Berman.
Berman says what motivates the department to keep donating to the hospital is that all monies raised by the students and donated to the Trust are directly used on the projects selected and no part of the funds go to staff salaries or administrative costs.
It takes the students two and a half terms to put the project together, which culminates on a Market Day where each group sells its products such as food, snacks and sweets on campus. However, in line with the hospital’s values, no alcoholic or tobacco products can be sold.
Besides equipping the students with holistic skills which are essential, the department promotes social responsibility as the donation to the hospital responds to a social need in not just the country, but the continent as a whole, says senior lecturer Mandie Richards.
From the project, the students acquire various skills including diversity management, business and administrative skills, teamwork, creativity, conflict resolution as well as managing finances.
Written by Kwanele Butana
Email: