Take the CHOC House in Saxonwold, for instance. It is a sanctuary for children receiving cancer therapy at the Johannesburg General Hospital and that means transport is an essential requirement for the commute between the CHOC House in Saxonwold and the hospital.
On identifying this vital need, Dis-chem sponsored a new 10-seater Toyota Quantum. Generally, children are treated as outpatients at the treatment centres far from their homes. A safe environment with quick and easy access to the treatment centres is a vital adjunct to therapy, which often weakens the patient's immune system.
“We believe these children deserve all the help that they can get, at what is probably the toughest time any child and family will face. The new vehicle makes a significant difference,” says Ivan Saltzman, Dis-Chem's managing director.
“We're delighted, all of us at Dis-Chem, to be in a position to help and through our loyalty programme provide enough funding to cover the entire cost of running the Saxonwold CHOC House and other much needed services,” Saltzman says.
Kenneth Dollman, a director of CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation says that the company's support, which has been generously given since 2003, is indespensable to achieving the Foundation's goals and especially those at the Saxonwold CHOC House.
“Our running costs are extensive, including water and electricity, rates and telephone calls. There are cleaning materials to buy, food for the parents and children, furniture and furnishings, maintenance, and more.
“Of course, there are wages to pay, too, because the sanctuary needs someone to drive the bus and staff to look after, cook and clean for the children. The children need somebody to play with them and cheer them up when they're down or just plain scared at night. The staff and volunteers organise entertainment and outings for the children, too, and that means more expense,” explains Dollman. “The company's generous monthly contribution to CHOC takes care of these expenses entirely. If there is money left over, it is used to purchase, among others, new medical equipment for the state-run paediatric oncology treatment centres in the Western Cape and Gauteng. This has included infusion pumps, blood-pressure units, and bedside monitors.”
Dis-Chem started out in 1978 as a small pharmacy in Mondeor, south of Johannesburg. Twenty-six years later the group is still privately owned and run by the original founders. Professional Management Review rates it as the country's best pharmacy chain.
