Core Group Tomorrow Trust Charity

There has been a lot of talk about the Core Group and Apple in the local blogosphere about lack of services delivery especially at iStores. We are not sure if this is an effort by Core Group to show that they are making an effort and try win back the hearts of their consumers. So the Core Group handed over R300 000 to local charity, The Tomorrow Trust, at a media event held last Thursday in their Sandton offices. The money was raised from proceeds of iPods sold by selected retailers in December 2008.

The Tomorrow Trust is a South African NGO that supports the education of orphans and vulnerable children right up to their first pay-check. This is achieved through a number of Holiday Schools that support learners in grade 0 to 4 and grade 10 to 12. These holiday schools also provide guidance in their future career paths. The organisation also funds further tertiary education for orphaned and vulnerable children.

RJ van Spaandonk, Executive Director of Core Group says, ‘We chose to support The Tomorrow Trust because as Apple’s representatives in South Africa, we share a similar commitment to education. This is the guiding principle behind our iSchoolAfrica Ignite Programme.”
“The Tomorrow Trust has given so many young people that chance, and has made a genuinely sustainable impact in their lives. We are confident that The Tomorrow Trust will put our donation to use and continue to equip children to be tomorrow’s leaders and guarantee the future of South Africa,” adds van Spaandonk.

“We are not merely a bursary fund,” says Kim Feinberg, the CEO of The Tomorrow Trust and the bright spark behind many of their innovate education interventions, “rather, we have a holistic approach to seeing these young individuals educated and empowered, which includes providing them with food, transport, social workers, and weekly communication to find out how they are doing. Universities and colleges have a 50 percent drop-out rate, whereas our students all stick to their educational commitments. This is because we mentor and care for every student in the programme to ensure they see their education right through to graduation and beyond.”
Van Spaandonk adds, “Our customers also need to be thanked for supporting this initiative by buying with their heart, and purchasing iPods in the month of December. We are seeing a new socially-conscious ethic creeping into consumer choices and it is very encouraging.”
Kim Feinberg says the The Tomorrow Trust is delighted with the donation of R300 000 from Core Group. “This is a partnership that has been built over the past three years and one that we feel extremely grateful and privileged to have,” she adds.

Kim Feinberg says the money will be used to educate orphans and vulnerable children in the The Tomorrow Trust’s Post Secondary Department, assisting with fees and textbooks for both their college and university students.

Sony Ericcson Naite Silver

Sony Ericsson recently started their GreenHeart™ initiative which has seen the company transform everything from phone manufacturing to every day functioning into sustainable eco-friendly business model.

The Naite alone reduces its CO2 footprint by 15% and it does this by using a e-manual which is built into the phone, this also makes the packing smaller which saves 90% of the paper used to make normal mobile phone packaging and manuals, the phone is also made from 50% recycled plastics, and lastly the charger uses less power (one of the most efficient on the market). This will really make the phone popular with people focused on creating a cleaner environment which is becoming very popular around the globe.

All the features on the Naite are pretty standard – email, texting, high-speed internet access and fairly rich multimedia capabilities. The Sony Ericsson Naite will become available October 2009.

Google's Goats

Google have done something utterly crazy yet again. In an effort to decrease their already low carbon foot print they have hired goats to “mow” the lawns of their California Mountain View head quarters.

According to Google they have few fields which need to be mowed occasionaly and cleared of weeds and brush which pose as potential fire hazards. The goats will be used every so often to clear the fields for about a week and will cost about the same as hiring a garden service, “goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers”.

This will add to Google’s aim of becomming carbon neutral which they have spent a lot of time and money on achieving. They have set the standards in data center efficiency and aim to do it with everything under Google’s control.