Jet Community Awards 2008 call for entry

This year, the awards will recognise community projects and organisations in the following categories:
Education - honouring organisations and individuals focusing on school-level programmes of excellence in literacy, maths, science and technology;
We Care - recognising inspirational community initiatives in healthcare, Early Childhood Development (ECD), and Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) as well as initiatives with people with disabilities, specifically in terms of care, support and empowerment;
Vukuzenzele - recognising entrepreneurs among black women, youths and in small enterprises; and
Environmental Waste Management - recognising those committed to reducing or eliminating waste production.

Upping the ante

By investing in the upliftment of communities, the Awards provide much-needed funding where it's needed most and is impacting the lives of thousands of disadvantaged people. Since the launch of the Awards in 2003, there has been such an enthusiastic response at a community level that Jet has continually increased its investment in the programme to the point where there is now more than R1 million in prize money on offer, says Jet Club Manager, Tessa Lloyd.

"The quality of the entries we have received over the years is indicative of the encouraging efforts at a community level to contribute towards real social transformation in South Africa and the broader southern Africa community. We are committed to ensuring that our winners have a sustained impact and a clear agenda of benefitting the community as a whole and to this end we send out a verification team to visit all short listed projects.

"Our winners are all remarkable in their own way but share a common vision – the transformation of their community through working for others. They have little or no external support and seldom any specialist education which makes their efforts all the more remarkable."

Last year the winners ranged from a child counselling centre to a community clothing initiative to a science, engineering and technology institute for underprivileged youths to a rural Honeybush nursery providing much-needed employment. These and other winners were carefully selected as remarkable examples of endeavours that have made a real difference to their communities.

How to enter

Do you or somebody you know make a real and lasting contribution to your community? This is an important question with over R1 million in prize money riding on the answer.

Lloyd points out that both nominations and self-completed entries will be accepted. “Entry forms will be published in the Jet Club magazine and community newspapers across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. Entry forms are also available online at www.jetstores.co.za/jet/jet+cares

Regional winners will each receive R15,000 and overall winners will each receive R75,000 and media exposure to create awareness and increase support for their projects. Entries close on 30 April 2008. For more information on the competition, the prizes or how to enter call GreaterGood South Africa on (021) 794 0580 or email .