Ex agency chief to spearhead communications at The Children's Hospital Trust

An exciting shift has taken place at the Children's Hospital Trust, the fundraising arm of the Red Cross Children's Hospital.

After three and a half years as Chief Operating Officer at award-winning agency Marcus Brewster Publicity, Helen White, nee Constantine, bid the private sector farewell to follow the trend of top executives joining non-profit organizations. Dedicated to supporting the Red Cross Children's Hospital in serving the children of Africa, the Trust promotes the Hospital as a centre of paediatric excellence and raises capital for selected needs. White will be managing the communications portfolio for the Trust.

White joins a tenacious new team that are geared for the challenge they face ensuring the long-term sustainability of this national asset that is nearing its fiftieth year in existence and itself in need of major surgery. The children of Africa stand to benefit from the dynamic team that boasts a number of individuals with strong multi-level corporate communications backgrounds offering donors and sponsors strategic marketing and publicity campaigns.

Despite the generous injection of cash from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund a daunting task still lies ahead as raising funds for the only dedicated specialist paediatric hospital in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be a challenge in a fluctuating economy. "The Trust's work is far from over as the needs of the Hospital are enormous," says Adrienne Coetzee, Director of the Children's Hospital Trust. "Employees of the Trust work within a very strict budget as 100% of the funds raised go the Hospital. The Trust's running costs are covered separately". Coetzee explains that a number of challenges face these professional communicators, as they operate within diverse market sectors while facing an underdeveloped culture of individual giving in South Africa.

"The private sector is saturated with highly skilled executives seeking greater job satisfaction and a sense of social responsibility. My decision to join the Trust was fuelled by a desire to make a difference while working within a NPO that is run like a business and strives towards a quality of deliverables that match and often exceed the corporate or private sectors. The trend of skilled professionals shifting into the NPO sector will inevitably lead to greater levels of professionalism within charitable organisations," says White.