Eight managers of the pub chain, Orchid Group, and operations director Paul Cutsforth have returned from a volunteering trip in two townships outside Cape Town, South Africa.
As part of Orchid’s ongoing Project Fair Play campaign, the employees were able to see firsthand the initiative their pubs and customers have supported.
Project Fair Play ran throughout the summer with 200 Orchid pubs taking part raising money and donating football shirts to help children in South Africa enjoy the game. Overall, 20,000 shirts and £15,000 were collected.
The managers were selected for being the most active in the campaign, either by raising the most money or collecting the greatest number of football shirts.
A new sports ground is currently being built at the Ukhanyo School in Mashiphumelele with the funds raised. The Orchid staff ran football clinics, helped out with painting and gardening, as well as enjoying craft and story sessions with the kids.
Cutsforth said: “Everyone was really touched and delighted that by giving a few pounds or passing on an old football shirt we could help out the children here.
“Their daily lives are very different from those of our own children, but the values of education and having fun remain the same. Seeing the conditions they live in and the joy that such a simple act can give made us realise how something so little can go such a long way and bring huge benefits.
“People like to work for a business that cares. It is important that it is not just about sales and profits but that the business gives something back as well and this is something Orchid is proud to do.”
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