First-year students in the Business and Information Administration (BIA) Department are part of the social entrepreneurship movement at CPUT and believe that active citizenship benefits all in society.

As part of their Business Administration subject, they raised R82 000 for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital Trust and Andrew Murray Children’s Home (AMCH)  in Wellington.

The District Six Campus students donated R70 000 to the trust while the Wellington Campus students, who are part of a multi-disciplinary service learning project on their campus, raised R12 000 for the AMCH.

The BIA students have since 2005 raised R500 000 for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

Lecturers Belinda Berman and Dr Lyn Kleinveldt together with the students recently celebrated this milestone by handing over the R70 000 cheque to the trust’s Fundraising and Bequest Relationship Officer, Pauline Solomons at the District Six Campus. The cheque was accompanied by donations from The Hadjidakis Group, Scent Pac, Shoprite, Clicks and Lewis Stores.

Last month, first-year Marketing students also handed over a R25 000 cheque to the trust as part of their contribution towards the hospital’s emergency centre upgrades.

The Wellington Campus students and their lecturer Mohamed Badat celebrated their fundraising achievement and the group facilitators handed the R12 000 cheque to AMCH’s Financial Manager, Raymond Driescher for the Bursary and Mentorship Tertiary Education Fund . The AMCH is a child and youth care centre which provides residential care for 150 children between the ages of one to 18, whilst integrating therapeutic and developmental programmes to assist them in reaching their potential.

The fundraising initiative is integrated into the Entrepreneurship unit in the subject, and students are not only taught about the financial aspects of raising funds but also teamwork, conflict management, communication and marketing.

Berman, who is also the subject’s co-ordinator, thanked the students for their efforts in making a difference and helping to save the lives of children.

HoD: BIA, Prof Visvanathan Naicker, emphasised the need for creating a caring society and praised the students for their spirit of giving and taking the time to care for needy children.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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CPUT students have donated a R25 000 cheque to assist with renovations and redesign of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

The first-year Marketing students raised the funds during the Department’s Market Day earlier this year, which saw them sell various types of foods and beverages on the District Six Campus.

The students were divided into groups to execute the project and the following groups excelled and were awarded certificates: The Red Cross Warriors group raised the most funds, the Utopia won the Best Creative Stall, while the Thrifts and Treats walked away with Creative Branding Concept and Sugar Babies the Best Creative Writing Skills.

Departmental Head Mandy Jones said the project is one of CPUT’s Community Engagement pillar as it provides the students with opportunities to collaborate with both the society and sponsors.

Jones congratulated the students for their contribution towards the aims of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and emphasised the importance of their contribution to society.

Lecturer Tania Pietersen said that the Market Day Project was born out of the subject, Personal Selling, as an ideal opportunity for students to sell products.

Pietersen added that the initiative gave the students a chance to apply the knowledge obtained in class as they used social media to promote what they were selling and that knowledge acquired from quite a few subjects was integrated into the project.

During the Cheque Handover/Award Ceremony’s event recently held at District Campus, Pauline Solomons, Fundraising & Bequest Relationship Officer at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital Trust, conveyed “sincere appreciation” for the work done by the students in contributing towards the upgrade of the hospital’s Emergency Centre.

Solomons invited the students to visit the oldest children’s hospital in the country, which is situated near Rondebosch, since they were now its shareholders.

Lecturer and the Project’s co-ordinator, Lawrence Mandhlazi, advised the students that when hiring employers are not just looking for a brilliant student, but also consider students’ community engagement activities. He added that the students were awarded marks for their work in the project.    

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Business Administration 1 students in the Business and Information Administration Department have donated R85 385 to The Children’s Hospital Trust of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

The students and their lecturer who is the project’s facilitator, Belinda Berman,  recently handed over to the trust cheques of R45 385, which they raised in 2016, and R40 000 in 2017, towards the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) upgrading and extension.

The department started the initiative in 2009 as a Business Administration 1 live academic entrepreneurship project and has to date donated a phenomenal R376 385 to the trust.

During the handover of the cheques and other donations at the hospital this week, Berman stated that by supporting the expansion of the ICU, more children were provided with a better chance of survival, and in turn this also contributed to providing an enhanced environment for families to support their children and the staff to continue enabling the best care.

She added: “More than 2 000 students had been involved in the project over the last nine years.”  Berman thanked all the students for their time and efforts and expressed how proud she was that they had embraced the spirit of UBUNTU. 

“Not only have the students acquired various entrepreneurship and business skills, but they have made a difference to the lives of many children who require medical treatment in South Africa and Africa,” says the department’s senior lecturer, Mandie Richards.

Loyal sponsors to the project include 7-11, J&M Famous Biltong and Scent Pac. 

Prizes are awarded annually for the team of students that raises the most profit and the one with the best portfolio.  All students receive a certificate of participation and merit certificates are issued to the winning teams.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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Six first-year Surface Design students of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology have designed a bench with a strong message on violence against women and children.
The bench was auctioned at the Cape Homemakers Expo at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and all proceeds were donated to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

The students decided to take a stand against violence against women and children and designed their bench to convey this message. Twenty designers were asked to design benches. CPUT was the only tertiary education institution.

“The idea of the bench started with a process of fabric manipulation - fabric that grew around the smocked little dress of a five year old girl. “The cacti create the contrast against the beautiful tactile qualities that can be seen in the fabric, colour and texture. This is representative of the contrast between the brutal violence and the innocence of the children.

Our message is not all about negativity. The cacti in our design are beautiful just like the people in our country too are beautiful, regardless of their actions. With this, we want to convey a message of hope and a belief in our country’s future,” says lecturer, Ms Julia Brewis.

One of the students, Inge van der Post, said the process was emotionally draining.

“This is a sensitive topic and it is personal. We used an actual little girl’s dress for our design and we had to think what girls go through and how they grow into women,” said Inge.

For Heseré Gildenhuys the process was an eye-opener. “You get so caught up in your own world, you never think about the problems out there. This made me realise that we have serious problems.”

Weyers Marais was the only male in the group, “We tried to focus on the positive and the negative. It is a message of hope that there is hope for abused children.”

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT staff members never shy away from doing their bit for the community.

Recently, a group of 30 Business Faculty staff members participated in a community-driven big walk, aimed at raising funds for Red Cross Children’s Hospital and a community library on the Cape Flats.

The event, sponsored by the ‘Sunshine D’ and ‘Polar Ice-cream’ brands saw participants walk 10km along the Seapoint Promenade meeting back at the urban park adjacent to the Cape Town stadium.

Well over R20 000 was raised, which is much needed by the hospital and library.

Head of the faculty’s Strategic Projects and Initiatives, Dr Reedwaan Ismail, who rallied together the staff members, says participating in the event was great fun.

“Our Dean, Prof Binza, requested that I arrange a team-building exercise for our staff and I saw this as a fitting activity that also brings in an element of community engagement,” says Dr Ismail.

Thirty staff members signed up, with the Faculty funding their entry fees.  Each participant also received a medal for their efforts and a variety of spot prizes were up for grabs. After the walk, the participating staff met up for lunch at the CPUT Hotel School to share their experiences.

“It was certainly a wonderful initiative to participate in an event like this. We will definitely be participating again next year,” says Dr Ismail.

“Next year, we hope to get more staff to sign up and will ask students to assist in manning the water points for walkers.”

He extends heartfelt thanks to the Dean for his support and the Marketing and Communication Department for branded items worn by the staff.

By: Thando J. Moiloa

Written by CPUT News
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Office Management and Technology students recently donated R35 000 to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

This year’s donation took the students’ overall contribution to the hospital over the past five years to R251 200.

First years in the department undertook the project to raise funds for the hospital as part of their Business Administration subject.

This year saw 182 students taking part in the project in groups, and the group called Heart Warmers made the most profit (R5 300).

The cheque of R35 000 was handed over to the hospital’s Events Manager, Tara van Schalkwyk, at a ceremony on Cape Town Campus.

Non-perishable food which was left over from the fundraising Market Day as well as clothes, toys and stationary were donated to the hospital.

The Cape Town-based hospital admits children of up to 16 years of age from all over Southern Africa.

Head of Department, Mario Da Costa, congratulated the students for their hard work and said the students’ contribution is welcome as it goes beyond CPUT.

Lecturer Belinda Berman emphasised that the donation will go directly to the children who need it most.

Red Cross boasts internationally acclaimed doctors and surgeons.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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CPUT students have raised yet another donation to assist with renovations and the redesign of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

Hot on the heels of October’s cheque handover to the hospital by a different group of CPUT students, students in the Marketing and Entrepreneurship departments recently handed over a R30 000 cheque to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

Last month, Business and Information Administration (BIA) students donated a cheque of R54 300 to the hospital. This took the total donations the hospital received from BIA students in the last ten years to R430 685.

During the recent official cheque handover Marketing lecturer Tania Petersen explained that for years the university hosted annual Market Days to raise funds for worthy causes but these were disrupted by campus unrest.

Petersen added that the students in the audience were members of groups that raised the most funds for the project in their respective departments. She congratulated the students for a challenging job well done.

This was the first time students in the two departments were donating money to the hospital as in previous years they donated to other charity organisations.

The Head of the Marketing Department, Mandy Jones, said Petersen once won a teaching award as a result of her coordination of the fundraising project.

“It’s not only about the money but also about impacting learning on the students as the skills obtained from the project will remain with the students forever,” said Jones.

Dr Lawrence Tengeh, Head of the Entrepreneurship Department, said the university wants to produce entrepreneurs who are responsible. “You are showing us that once you have a lot to give you’ll give back to the community,” said Tengeh.

Pauline Solomons, a Fundraiser at the Children’s Hospital’s Trust, said the hospital’s doors are open to the students for a tour as well as to ask about anything they need to know about the hospital. She encouraged the students to continue giving donations to the hospital.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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