Where Exactly Does The Money Go?

Something I will never figure out, is how one day my bank account is full(ish) and the very next day it’s empty.  Or how popping out for a basket full of goodies now costs me half my salary.  And let’s not even talk about school fees!

But that’s a story for another day.

What I really want to talk about is what happens to the money that we raise when we swipe our MySchool cards at our local Woolies, Engen or online at loot.co.za etc.  Does it actually go where we think it goes?

So, you might remember that I signed up for my card a while ago.

On Giving Back With MySchool

It only made sense to get it, since I go to the stores that support it on a regular basis, in fact I should have got it years ago.  Anyway, better late than never right?!  Since we’ve been using our card for the last few months, I’ve been getting a monthly statement that shows me just how much money I’ve raised (surprisingly it’s quite a lot!  I think in total it’s over R1000!).  It’s amazing to see how much you can contribute just by doing your regular monthly shopping as well as the additional birthday/festive gifts.

There are three ways that you can share the money that you accumulate –

1. You can choose a school to support.
2. You choose a charity to support
3. You can do a combination of both

So if you’re wanting to make your gift purchases count, (or even just your regular shopping) you need to get your card going (it’s really easy, you can just do it on their site HERE).  Then you can choose to help a three beneficiaries of your choice – from charities and environmental organisations to local schools – all with the click of a button.  After that, all you need to do is make sure that you swipe your card each and every time that you shop at Woolworths, Bidvest Waltons, Engen Foodstops, Flight Centres and one of South Africa’s biggest online stores www.loot.co.za.  The retailers then make contributions on your behalf (based on a percentage of your spend) at no extra cost to you.  Easy peasy.

But where does it go?

In the last fiscal year the funds raised by MySchool, MyVillage and MyPlanet amounted to R70,319,673.21 and it was used to support a range of schools, charities and conservation organisations.  But how exactly?  Let’s break it down:

• Animal causes are a huge beneficiary for most cardholders.
  • The National Council of SPCAs received R 326,107.74;
  • Sandton SPCA, Tshwane SPCA, Cape of Good Hope SPCA and Alberton SPCA, as well as the SPCA’s of Kloof, Durban and Amanzimtoti received over R1 million.
  • Highveld Horse Care Unit in Vereeniging received R 147,701.78
  • CartHorse Protection Association operating on the Cape Flats received R 92,929.62
  • False Bay’s TEARS, (The Emma Animal Rescue Society) received R 272,086.33.
  • MyPlanet Rhino Fund which is managed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust got a whopping R 2,483,344.39!!
• Children’s charities are also a popular group to support.
  • The Red Cross Hospital, received almost R 200,000.00
  • CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation, an organisation that provides support to children with cancer and life threatening blood disorders, and their families received R 125,383.39.
  • Cotlands, an organisation working across six provinces and specialising in early childhood development (ECD) opportunities for vulnerable children received R 108,405.18.
  • Durbanville Children’s Home received R 38,034.95
  • Johannesburg’s Abraham Kriel Childcare received R 54,575.60

I’ve actually spoken to principals of these schools and I know that receiving these monthly contributions are a huge part of their fund raising efforts and they value each and every bit that comes in.  They need this additional support to keep their fees as low as possible while still providing the kids in their care with the best facilities that they can.  This all helps to create improved education, a better society and a more sustainable planet.

MySchool sent me a lovely press drop with the option for me to give R2500 to a variety of different communities, but as you all know, kids are my passion.  So I have chosen to give it to Thohoyandou Primary School to help them buy some educational resources for their 2017 learners.

So what are you waiting for?  Go get your card started and head into 2017 helping out communities in need.