This year I’ve been selected to
take part in Virgin Unite’s annual Staff Connection Trip to South Africa in
October. While this might sound like some kind of cool vacation (it will
definitely be cool), it’s actually quite a bit more than that. Virgin Unite
is the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, founded by Richard
Branson. The organization unites people and entrepreneurial ideas to
reinvent how we live and work in the world to help make people’s lives
better. Their aim is to do their part to revolutionize the way
businesses, government and the social sector work together – driving business
as a force for good.
So what does that mean for
me? This trip gives Virgin staff from around the world a chance to experience
first-hand the work of Virgin Unite and its partners in South Africa.
We’ll be volunteering at Pride ‘n Purpose, the charitable arm of Ulusaba
(Richard Branson’s private game conservatory), where we’ll get involved in a
number of hands-on community projects, including helping to build a community
centre with a public kitchen, food garden, internet cafe and solar powered
well. We’ll also visit the Bhubezi Clinic, a Healthcare Centre that
provides HIV/AIDS and primary healthcare treatment to thousands of patients and
meet aspiring entrepreneurs at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in
Johannesburg to learn about how they are growing their businesses and creating
jobs in the community.
Cool right? So, Unite has
been kind enough to foot the bill for the trip itself, but to actually fund the
projects we’re working on, Unite needs us to raise some cash (a working
community centre aint cheap). That’s why for the next month I’ll be doing
all sorts of stuff to raise money; I kicked off the fundraising by offering my
office-mates a chance to soak me in a dunk tank at our office summer party and a
colleague of mine led a yoga class for cash.
Most recently we had a delicious bake sale with folks from all around my
office donating their time to bake some yummy treats to sell.
You can help too! Every little bit counts; collectively the
team needs to raise £15,000 (that’s about $24,000). Also, if you work for a business that could
donate a product or service, let me know, we’ll be having a raffle at the end
of the month and more prizes means more tickets sold!
For more info what the connection trip is all
about, and Virgin Unite in general click here. 