Paycorp gives back: our corporate citizenship initiatives of the past year

We have a mantra here at Paycorp that goes: “Have fun, make money, do good.” It essentially summarises what we aim to do on a daily basis. All three parts this creed are equally important to us, but the one that brings us the most joy is without a doubt doing good. This year, we had several projects that were dedicated to improving the lives of our staff and their loved ones, as well as millions of other South African marginalised and disenfranchised lives. Here’s a look back at all our corporate citizenship projects and community engagements of the past year.

St. Laurence’s Children’s Haven

St. Laurence’s Children’s Haven was founded in 2002 as a home for children who have been abused or abandoned. They house between 28 and 35 children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years at any given time. This year we donated groceries to the value of R144 000.

Paycorp Empowerment Trust

The Paycorp Empowerment Trust (PET) was founded as a B-BBEE ownership scheme to promote equity and redress historical disadvantages with the philosophy that the key to improving lives and creating jobs is increasing access to tertiary education. In 2016 the trust signed bursary agreements with seven beneficiaries who were all either Paycorp employees or the immediate family of one of our staff members.

Mzansi accounts

Mzansi accounts have gone a long way towards increasing financial access and flexibility of unbanked and underbanked communities. According to a FinScope survey done in 2014, these low-income transactional accounts made up 4% of the banked market, roughly 2 million South Africans at the time. In 2016, Paycorp contributed subsidies to the value of R640 302 for the benefit of Mzansi accounts.

That’s not all

In addition to our big projects, Paycorp also made smaller efforts towards charity and the greater good throughout the year. Every year we participate in Casual Day for the aid of those living with disabilities, Slipper Day which raises funds for Reach For A Dream and Tekkie Tax Day which supports over 1500 NGOs. We take part in CANSA shavathons and we observe Movember to raise awareness for prostate and testicular cancer as well as breast cancer awareness month.

Good corporate citizenship is all about developing the community and country in which we do business. In the new year, we hope to reach even more people with our corporate citizenship projects and change more lives. Because, after all, a mantra only works if you repeat it over and over again.