Attacq Foundation tackles hunger to facilitate childhood education and skills development
Expect a child to learn on an empty tummy and the odds are there won’t be much learning.
Attacq Foundation, Attacq’s corporate social investment (CSI) organisation, believes the link between educational achievement and hunger merits attention. The JSE-listed real estate company pursues many causes beyond real estate and eradicating child hunger to facilitate learning is one of those causes.
In early childhood development, a period crucial to the building blocks of educational achievement, sweeping away hunger unlocks a world of possibilities for pre-school children.
Over the last two years, the Attacq Foundation has been funding, packing and distributing nutritious meals to Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in regions within the three provinces in which the Attacq group operates.
Their partner in this project to stamp out child hunger and foster learning is Sage, Attacq’s resident client in Waterfall City. The entire initiative has successfully been facilitated for the third year running, through Rise Against Hunger, a volunteer-based meal packaging, distribution and results-orientated nutrition programme organisation.
“The main purpose of the Attacq Foundation is to collaborate with communities in which we operate to provide a sustainable long-term impact in those communities. We do this through socio-economic development, skills development initiatives, SMME initiatives as well as general community support programmes,” states Attacq’s Human Capital and Transformation Manager and Trustee of the Foundation, Danny Vermeulen.
The Attacq Foundation’s pillars are education and skills development. Learners need a nutritious meal in their bellies to be able to think, concentrate, and absorb learning material. Attacq Foundation’s partnership with Rise Against Hunger speaks to this pillar, linking nutrition and education in the all-important, foundation-phase.
Since Attacq’s Rise Against Hunger campaign began in 2021, it has fed 1 036 children under the age of six, every day, at school.
Partnerships and funding are crucial to the success of initiatives like the Rise Against campaign, one of the Attacq Foundation’s flagship projects. And with just Attacq and Sage sponsoring the event, there is only so much that can be achieved.
“We believe that we are unable to make a meaningful and sustainable difference and have the large-scale impact that we want to create by conducting this project in isolation. As influential organisations within our communities, we need to combine our resources and efforts to achieve greater results.” says Janine Palm, Social Executive at Attacq.
Attacq Foundation’s call to action, is widening support. The first-year target was to pack 90,000 meals, a target that was exceeded by about 6,000. Last year, with assistance from partners Sage Foundation and Balwin Foundation respectively, as well as the community, schools and NGOs, the Attacq Foundation packed more than 154,000 meals, surpassing its 120,000 target.
To date, the Attacq Foundation and Sage have procured around 21,318kgs of food and packed 283,330 meals, all those meals distributed to ECD centres in Attacq’s communities nationally.
“Rise Against Hunger provides the product that makes up the meal package for our annual Rise Against Hunger campaign. The Attacq Foundation, together with the Sage Foundation, provide the funding, and Attacq’s tenants support the initiative by sending their staff to pack meals. This year, we are incredibly excited to welcome activation partners in Pfizer, Astute and Balwin Foundation. The companies resonate with the plight of our communities and have come on board as contributing partners with volunteers and financial assistance,” says Vermeulen.
Attacq Foundation’s Rise Against Hunger initiative is run at all Attacq’s retail assets; Lynnwood Bridge in Pretoria, Garden Route Mall in George, Eikestad Mall in Stellenbosch, MooiRivier Mall in Potchefstroom with the largest drive at Mall of Africa in Waterfall City. Of the 154,000-odd meals that the Attacq Foundation packed last year, over 100,000 were collected from Mall of Africa, which were then distributed to community ECD centres.
Last year six production lines with 18 volunteers per line were used to pack meals at Mall of Africa. But with 2023’s target raised to 200,000 meals to be packed and distributed nationally, this year additional shifts has been added.
This year the Rise Against Hunger meal packing initiative will be hosted at the Mall of Africa’s Waterfall Park in Waterfall City on Mandela Day, 18 July, at Eikestad Mall in Stellenbosch, at Garden Route Mall in George, at MooiRivier Mall in Potchefstroom and in the Lynnwood Bridge precinct at Glenfair Boulevard shopping centre. Reach out to these social media pages to sign up today to be a part of this mega initiative as Madiba’s day is a day that is particularly special for all South Africans.
The event promises to be even bigger and better and more fun than the previous two years. Rewarding and fun in equal measure – and by all accounts a great team building exercise – there is a more important purpose at play. The ECD Centers in Attacq’s communities will benefit from the efforts of everyone on the day in Waterfall City.
Waterfall City is a city of commerce, a city of connection, a city of community and a city that cares. It has a special connection unlike any other with its communities as well as those surrounding it. Attacq Foundation initiatives talk to the pillar of Waterfall City Cares and the hope is to establish the Rise Against Hunger initiative as a Waterfall City Cares project together with many other partners in our burgeoning City.
Sixty-seven minutes. There can be no better way to contribute to one’s community by donating either time or money on a day that honours Nelson Mandela and his 67 years of service to the country.
Join us as a volunteer on the day at one of our regions today – click here