The Ethembeni Children's Home in Doornfontein is an initiative of The Salvation Army that cares for up to 60 children, from birth to three years, that have been removed from abusive households or abandoned due to being infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. This year L'Oréal staff will divide their efforts between two projects - an outing to the Johannesburg Zoo for all the Ethembeni toddlers followed by a special zoo picnic, and upgrading the home's dining room.
Another children's haven that will receive a mini-makeover is Dimphonyana Tsa Lapeng in Olievenhoutbosch, Centurion near Pretoria. The venue first opened its doors in 2001 as a nursery and pre-school catering for children aged six months to six years from the local community. In 2004 the school expanded its services to include a place of safety for abused children, children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and mothers and children at risk. As part of their Citizen Day work, a volunteer team will help refurbish the residence, including painting the various rooms.
Staff from L'Oréal's Midrand manufacturing plant will also focus on assisting the country's children when they dedicate their time to help Stop Hunger Now SA, a hunger relief organisation that aims to provide food for South Africa's destitute people. The programme's efforts include children, where it works with Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres to ensure at least one nutritional meal per learner per day. As part of their efforts, factory staff will help pack 54 000 meals for those ECD centres supported by the programme.
L'Oréal's position in the beauty industry stands it in good stead to assist the local cosmetic industry's social responsibility initiative, the Look Good...Feel Better programme, of which it is a founding member. The programme is dedicated to helping women undergoing active cancer treatment overcome the distressing appearance-related side effects of their treatment.
As a programme partner, L'Oréal supplies products to be used in the workshops and recently helped develop a new hair component to the programme. This year a group of L'Oréal staff will take that support a step further by assisting LGFB volunteers at a workshop in Benoni.
Extending its outreach efforts further to women in need, L'Oréal will also spend a day at the San Salvador Home for women with intellectual disabilities in Hyde Park, Johannesburg. A group of volunteers will paint the home's entertainment room, including a special blackboard wall, to help create a stimulating environment in which the women can flourish.
