Pietermaritzburg and District Community Chest

ABOUT US

Mission Statement

The Organisation is a non-profit organisation, committed to raising and distributing funds and providing services in a professional and efficient manner, to organisations engaged in meeting the Welfare, Education, Health and Income Generation needs of the Community.

Enhancing Community, Restoring Hope

We aim to meet the Social Responsibility needs of all our Donors by facilitating the widest, most effective distribution of funds and services.

Funds derived from the Community for the Community

We strive to create a stimulating and challenging environment for volunteers and staff for personal growth and self-fulfillment.

Our Vision

Is to make a difference and an impact in the lives of the disadvantaged in our Community by awakening the public to a sense of Social Responsibility and the economic need to assist the disadvantaged.

The 8 Community Chest Values

• In wanting to shift the culture of poverty to a culture of prosperity, which INITIATIVES are strategic for us to focus on? There may be 50 pressing challenges, but two or three initiatives have the power to dramatically shift or solve the problem.
• What is our declared INTENTION with our strategy and areas of engagement? We must never invest money or people or time until we have stated very clearly to ourselves what our own intentions are with what we are funding or doing.
• Who and what is influencing our INTERVENTION? Who is behind what we are doing? Who is ultimately in the driver seat and what is the agenda?
• In designing strategies how are we addressing the power vs. INFLUENCE challenge that often strangles development? In development we know it’s not just about having power. You must have influence at a number of levels to effect change.
• What new INTELLIGENCE are we employing to address the issues we want to solve or shift? Action that is not based on intelligence is dangerous. Ask anybody in emergency rescue services. Just being charitable is not enough. We need to develop new intelligence all the time to address the issues of our day.
• Are we being INNOVATIVE with what we are doing or are we merely regurgitating what others are doing or what we ourselves have always done? What are we doing that is based on our own contextual realities and not just a “one size fits all solution”?
• How are we planning to measure the IMPACT of what we have designed as an intervention? Do we have the skill sets to go back and monitor and evaluate what we have designed as an intervention?
• Can we speak with INTEGRITY to the donors and the community about what we are planning and doing?

Our History

A Community Chest was first mooted in Pietermaritzburg by members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) in 1957, and an interim Committee was set up to develop the idea in November 1958.

A Steering Committee of prospective donors was elected in September 1959, raising R3 600 prior to a public meeting held on 3 August 1960 – taken to be our founding meeting – at which a second Interim Committee was appointed to draw up a Constitution, which was adopted at the second Annual General Meeting on 14 September 1962.

From the outset, the Mayor of Pietermaritzburg serves as ex-officious President of the Chest and the Administrator/Premier of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal serves as Patron.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many organisations are helped annually through the Community Chest?

We currently assist 74 Community Impact Partners in Pietermaritzburg. They receive their annual grants in 4 quarterly installments.

How are the funds raised?

We raise funds in the following ways:

• Workplace Giving
• Corporate Donations
• Individual & Private Donations
• Donation from Trusts
• Bequests
• Organisation of Events
• Donor Advised Giving

What fields of service does Community Chest cover?

Funds are allocated in the Social Welfare, Education and Health areas:

• General Child and Family Welfare
• Community Services / Poverty Alleviation / HIV & Aids
• Elderly Care
• Care of the Disabled
• Health Care Support Services
• Early Childhood Development
• Education for Learners with Special Needs
• Substance Abuse
• Crime Prevention

SERVICES

Your CSI and B-BBEE Partner

The Pietermaritzburg & District Community Chest is committed to addressing our community's key social issues:

Community Development

• Lock DOWN Economy
• City Garden Project
• Rural Bursaries

Education

• ECD
• Life Skills (Gen@)
• Youth Leadership (YLA)
• Substance Abuse
• Gender-based Violence
• Bursaries

Health

• Tuberculosis
• Basis Health Principle
• HIV/AIDS
• Diabetes
• Hunger Eradication

Income Generation

• Homeless
• Seniors
• THISAbility
• WAR Rooms
• Our Community Impact Partners

What are Community Impact Partners (CIP's)?

The Pietermaritzburg & District Community Chest engages partners in collective action to solve problems and build on existing strengths. Working together we can achieve far more than each organisation working alone. The PMB & District Community Chest unites not-for-profit organisations in the Pietermaritzburg and KwaZulu-Natal area. Collectively we are best able to address the key social issues (Community Development,Education,Health and Income Generation) of our community.

Generation@

This is a collaborative initiative supported by various stakeholders to utilize creative and innovative proven strategies to address a critical shortfall evident in the Education system throughout Africa.

This is a holistic and multi level approach to transform schools in our country

• STEP 1 - Inner-visioning: Principal's School Vision
• STEP 2 - Transformer: Life Skills for teachers
• STEP 3 - Breakthrough: Learners 11 - 15 years of age

Junior Community Chest

In June 2016, the Pietermaritzburg Community Chest, in its ongoing partnership with Alston Primary School, launched the Junior Community Chest 2016 with the grade 7 students of the school.In 2015, these students had undergone 3 months of intense leadership training in the Generation@ program, which is funded by the Vivian Reddy School Leadership Foundation.

The students undertook to raise funds for a community outreach program. The beneficiary was the Pietermaritzburg Children's Home, and on Friday 2nd September 2016 the students had raised enough funds through entrepreneurial ventures in the school to buy winter gloves, beanies and scarves for the children of P.C.H.

Although winter is firmly behind us, the students planned to ensure that winter 2017 would be one less burden for the children. ?All the members of the J.C.C. will be in high school next year and hope to further develop their social entrepreneurial skills learned in giving back to their community and adding hope to the lives of other less fortunate children around them.

The community Chest salutes the philanthropic spirit of the school body at Alstin primary School and encourage other schools to inquire about how they can be involved in touching lives and restoring hope in their schools.