The MySchool fundraising programme was launched in 1997 by a Johannesburg-based parent who wanted to help his child's school raise more funds in an easy and sustainable manner. From these humble beginnings, the programme grew from strength to strength. What began as a fundraising programme solely focused on providing parents with the opportunity to support their local school every time they shopped, the programme expanded to assist "Villages" (charities supporting people) and "Planets" (charities supporting animals and the environment) in 2007, changing its name to MySchool MyPlanet MyVillage.
Today over 800 000 active supporters swipe their cards at the partner outlets, together reaching the goal of giving back R1-million every single week. Funds raised for schools and charities have more than doubled over the last five years, with R495 000 raised weekly in 2009.
Earlier in June the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet programme received international recognition, winning two awards at the International Loyalty Awards 2014 in London: Loyalty Programme of the Year - Middle East and Africa and Best CSR Initiative linked to Loyalty. They were also awarded High Commendation Best Loyalty Programme Marketing Campaign for their Swipe for Africa campaign, which raised awareness among kids around conservation issues and helps to raise funds for anti-poaching initiatives.
"Our next goal is to increase our number of active supporters to one million. Growing our numbers of active supporters will help us make an even more sustainable impact in support of education and social development," says Pieter Twine, MySchool's GM. Since July 2013 the programme has signed up 105 new beneficiaries and continues to grow.
In 2008 the programme launched the Thuso Fund for Schools and Charities to support under-resourced school and charities across South Africa. This fund is used to support special projects that address school and learner needs, as well as special projects that support people, animal and environmental charities. To date the Thuso Fund has given back more than R7.4-million.
When supporters swipe their MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet cards at partner outlets, the partner donates a percentage of their purchase value to the beneficiary of their choice, without it costing the supporter anything. Partners include: Altech Netstar, Engen Quickshops and Foodstops, MySchool Holidays, Kalahari.com, Power24, Reggie's, Toys 'R Us, Waltons and Woolworths.
