Johannesburg, 13 Jul 2005
IT infrastructure, solutions and services provider, Datacentrix has donated R20 000 towards Pretoria-based school, St Mary`s DSG`s Debutantes Programme. The contribution forms part of the funds raised by students on an annual basis which are donated to charity organisations or underprivileged individuals.
St Mary`s DSG educates 800 girls from Grade 0 to matriculation, limiting classes to manageable sizes, enabling staff to cater for individual needs. The school`s self-funding centre, St Mary`s DSG Outreach, with an annual budget of more than R1.5 million, ensures St Mary`s plays a role in contributing to better educational opportunities for previously disadvantaged South Africans.
Says Ciska Tempest, Head of St Mary`s DSG: "The St Mary`s DSG Grade 10 Debutante Programme aims to enhance the entrepreneurial skills of the girls and, through this, gives them the opportunity of raising funds to assist those less fortunate than themselves. Last year`s group raised R133 000 and the girls, this year, are well on their way to reaching their target. The main beneficiaries of the Datacentrix donation will be Irene Homes for mentally disabled women, St Mary`s DSG Outreach, the Pretoria Child and Family Care and the Heartbeat centre for community development. The ingenuity of the girls in the way they go about their fundraising activities never ceases to amaze me. I am very proud of each and every one of them."
Grade 10 pupils enrolled in the Debutantes Programme are split into several groups, which compete against each other to raise the highest amount of money. They accomplish this by selling items, such as sweets or food, hosting an annual event such as a jazz festival and eliciting sponsorships.
According to Gary Morolo, executive chairman of Datacentrix, the company believes strongly in investing in the youth of SA. "Based on this principle, Datacentrix has established a strong social responsibility programme, which includes an empowerment programme for underprivileged students as well as a number of other undertakings. We identified the programme coordinated by St Mary`s as being in line with our endeavours of this nature."
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