If the old saying “the proof is in the pudding” is anything to go by, then the positive results of the collaboration between the NSRI and Platinum Partners De Beers Marine are proof of a successful match.
“It costs just R10 to give a single child a water safety lesson,” says Stuart Moerdyk, Retail & Corporate Relationship Manager for the NSRI. “So far, contributions from De Beers Marine have allowed us to teach 50 000 children from disadvantaged communities. We believe that if at-risk youths are empowered with the valuable water safety knowledge, are taught HandsOn CPR, and are confident in their ability to help a friend in difficulty, fewer water-related incidents would result in fatal drownings.”
De Beers Marine officially started donating to the NSRI in 2002. Initially, the donations were used towards the numerous needs of the organisation.
“We asked them to become NSRI Gold Partners in 2016 as they were already meeting the financial commitments required without receiving the benefits of being corporate partners,” Moerdyk recalls. “As important marine industry stakeholders, we wanted them to benefit as much as possible from their relationship with the NSRI.”
In 2018 De Beers Marine became Platinum Partners and their annual donation was allocated to the NSRI’s national drowning prevention efforts, in particular the organisation's School Water Safety Education programme.
“We wanted to align their contribution with their CSI vision, and so from there we allocated their annual donation to supporting our efforts in the classroom, where it costs just R10 to teach a single child,” says Moerdyk.
“The NSRI’s mission to save lives on South African waters, to educate communities, and to innovate and constantly evolve and extend its water-safety initiatives through empowerment and visibility is aligned with many of De Beers Marine’s values and strategic priorities,” says Coral Wheelock, Senior Human Resources Manager at De Beers Marine. “These priorities are to put safety first, to show we care and to partner for thriving communities through focusing on, among other things, health and well-being, skills and education, and improving livelihoods within our communities.
“From the beginning, they have recognised our value to the industry and have continued to offer us support,” Moerdyk adds. “Having them as partners helps us beyond the education of children. Very importantly, it also helps to give other organisations the confidence to support us too.”
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