Allen Joss Ford has embarked on a team-building exercise with a difference.
The dealership has always, and by always, they mean 52 years, focused its corporate social investment efforts on underprivileged and handicapped children in the Pretoria area. This time, however, they took them – and their team – well out of town.
In August, Allen Joss took a group of children, all who have physical, mental or other conditions that require 24-hour care and supervision, and many of their team members, to the Kruger National Park in a fleet of Fords, including the Ranger Raptor and Torneo. All the children come from Meerhof School near Hartebeespoort.
Many of the children from Meerhof have never left their care facilities as a group. It gives them an opportunity to develop new social skills that will stand them in good stead when they reach young adulthood.
The trip also helped the children to experience the wild and learn about conservation and their natural environment. Back home, their experiences turn into wild-eyed stories of what they saw in the Kruger.
“I am an entrepreneur who likes to give back,” says Dale Joss, CEO of the Joss Group of Companies.
“These trips started with my grandfather and then my father, and as I grew older, it became one of those projects that I felt very strongly about. The Kruger National Park is so unique because it teaches you about the circle of life, and sometimes the harshness of life.
“There are lots of charities out there, but this initiative gives back something real, and not necessarily something that can be bought or donated. The Kruger is a special place with lessons that you won’t find in textbooks, and it’s so rewarding to see it leaves a life-changing impression beyond what the children have yet seen or imagined,” says Joss.
“This initiative echoes the #FordForSouthAfrica campaign,” says Doreen Mashinini, General Manager for Marketing at Ford South Africa. She adds: “It includes the essence of what makes Ford, and the Ford family in South Africa, deeply involved and committed to this wonderful and vibrant country and community.”
She concludes: “It is the embodiment of #FordForSouthAfrica, and Dale and his team are making a tangible difference to these children’s lives, giving them guidance and skills that many of us take for granted. By taking care and showing empathy towards the youth, the future of South Africa is in good hands.”
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