Seventeen interns from Continental Tyre South Africa will each be donating at least 67 minutes of their time to helping SOS Children’s Village Port Elizabeth clean up the area around the village, situated in Schauderville, today 18 July, 2011 as part of Mandela Day.
The interns, who are all currently doing their practicals at Continental Tyre, approached their mentors at Continental and asked if they could do something to give back to the community, and proposed a clean-up operation be held at the Village, where the company has been a house sponsor for many years.
Fundraiser for SOS Children’s Villages South Africa, Mandy Spies, said the clean up idea as greatly appreciated as illegal dumping around the Village was a constant problem and posed a serious health risk to the children.
“We have a serious problem with dumping of household refuse, builder’s rubble and sometimes larger household items like broken furniture and appliances on Searle Road, adjacent to the SOS Children’s Village, causing a serious health risk for our children and members of the public that use this main connecting road between Schauderville and Newton Park,” she said.
The activities for Mandela Day at SOS Children’s Village, Port Elizabeth will include the actual clean-up by the students during the morning and will be followed by a short educational talk with the children focusing on reducing one’s carbon footprint. The interns will end the day off with a friendly soccer match against the youth.
