Inspired by Mandela's specific request, Marc established
The Smile Foundation, an organisation which now helps to
return the smiles to the faces of between 250 & 300 kids
every year and provides an impressive range of support
services and training in related areas.
Africa Tikkun was started by Marc's dad and the then chief
rabbi as a charity designed to address Ad-Hoc social needs
– from feeding schemes, to shack development, to youth
leadership. Where there was a need Tikkun tried to find a
way to fill that need.
Today Africa Tikkun touches something in the order of
17000 people every day in a variety of ways and adopts an
holistic approach to their significant social investment in
communities across South Africa.
All this to say that when it comes to social spending and
social responsibility Marc has 'form', he has credentials, he
knows his business and he knows what he's talking about.
So, when Marc speaks, it's worth listening.
The surprising thing is what Marc has to say … Which brings
us back to this:
Marc, by his own admission, is currently failing and Marc
does not like to fail. Indeed, having recognised the truth,
Marc is determined to do something about it – and that's
why he climbed up on his soap box for CSR.
According to Marc there are over 90 THOUSAND registered
NGO's in South Africa.
6
Corporate social spending in South Africa exceeds 7
BILLION rand every year.
Social spending by government exceeds 20 BILLION rand a
year.
The Philanthropic sector employs more
people in South Africa than the
manufacturing sector.
Now, before we go on, stop and take a look at those
numbers again. That's 90 thousand organisations, over 27
billion rand, tens of thousands of people – all dedicated to
addressing South Africa's social problems, all working to
serve their various causes, to meet the different social
needs they care most about, to make life better for the
people who they have decided most need their help.
Ok, now take that mental picture and balance those
numbers and those facts against your mental picture of our
world here in South Africa today.
Does it feel like it's getting better to
you?
Are the bellies of the unfed becoming full? Are those without
homes being brought in out of the rain and the cold? Are the
uneducated having their minds filled with new ideas and
their hands provided with new skills? Are the unemployed
being steadily steered towards gainful work? Are our
CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW