South Africa: Allergan steps up to the plate with R250 000 donation
….to Baby Moses Child Sanctuary- The donation is Allergan South Africa’s reward for placing second in the Allergan International Foundation Charity Challenge, which kicked off in November last year and culminated at the annual European Start Up Sales Conference in Tenerife, Spain, in January this year. Over the two-month period, marketing and sales staff from around the world were challenged to prove their everyday fitness by using pedometers to collect and collate their daily steps, which were then combined to create a countrywide score. The challenge culminated with a 5km or 10km run or walk on day one of the T1 conference.
Morne Steenkamp, Country Manager for Allergan South Africa, visiting the sanctuary to do the official cheque handover
The 40 Sales and Marketing delegates from South Africa that attended the Tenerife meeting did exceptionally well, placing the country second, and winning a donation of US$25 000 from the Allergan International Foundation for the charity of its choice.
The Nordic countries were placed first in the challenge, winning US$30 000 for their chosen charity, and the Marlow (UK Head office) team were placed third, winning US$20 000.
In total, 969 Allergan marketing and sales personal from around the world walked a combined 173 000 000 steps over the period of the challenge, enough to walk three and a half times around the world or to the moon and back twice!
“We are extremely proud to be working for a company like Allergan, that is prepared to give back to communities in need, I would like to give a huge thanks to all the sales and marketing people that made our drive such a success,” says Allergan South Africa Country Manager, Morne Steenkamp.
The Allergan Foundation, created in 1998, is committed to providing a lasting and positive impact on the community. Since inception, it has granted more than US$30 million to worthy causes, focusing on four philanthropic areas: the arts, civic programs, education, and health and human services.
This is the largest single donation that Baby Moses Child Sanctuary has received since its launch in 2002, and will be put to good work in furthering the wellbeing of the children in its various homes across the country. Over the past decade, Baby Moses has admitted more than 200 children to its homes, and also placed over 200 with adoptive or foster families. It currently has 76 children under its care. As long as there is space, Baby Moses is committed to admitting any abandoned child, whether disabled, abused or terminally ill.
The donation from Allergan will go a long way towards ensuring that there is sufficient space for the growing number of abandoned children across the country.
“We are so fortunate at having been chosen as your charity of choice for this event, and these funds will make a big impact on our business this year,” says Baby Moses co-founder Lanie De Klerk.
“We are planning to expand and presently considering opening some additional children’s homes and a crèche for orphans and vulnerable children later this year. Thank you for your trust in us. With the help of donations from supporters such as you, we will continue to care for our children in a responsible way.”
“It’s all about everyone taking little steps. If we all took little steps, every day, to improve our communities, it would make a big difference. Just as our little steps combined will make a big difference to Baby Moses,” concludes Steenkamp.
