The Philocaly Trail was initiated as many people do not know our magnificent coastline – it was an opportunity for people to walk this mostly untouched shores, while raising money for WILDOCEANS, BREATHECONSERVATION and KZN BEACH CLEAN UP.

Marine pollution is a major global problem and these charities work tirelessly to keep our oceans clean.

TrueNorth was a major sponsor of the walk as well as Carl, the MD participating in walking half the distance. Along the way, walking with like minded people encouraged Carl to pick up litter, bottle tops in particular, which he found to be plentiful. He wrote the word Philocaly Trail in a few of the tops he found, within the space of 100 metres.

We achieved what I set out to do – raise money for the charities doing the amazing work, and enabled nature lovers to appreciate what beauty we have on our doorstep.

Philocaly – ‘the love of beauty’

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) launched the pink buoy initiative after finding that in many cases those attempting to rescue others ended up drowning. The buoys have been strategically placed on beaches where lifeguards are not present and have instructions on how to use them. Six beaches were initially targeted, however as the Community supported the initiative and funding started coming in, more buoys were put up. TrueNorth Recruitment are proud to be associated with the NSRI Pink Rescue Buoy initiative and have sponsored a pink rescue buoy at Zinkwazi beach.  TrueNorth Recruitment feel passionately about supporting worthwhile community initiatives and donate monthly to NSRI as well as support the NSRI fundraising campaign. Since November 2017, 300 buoys have been installed around the coastline, at rivers, dams and swimming pools and at least 20 people have been rescued using them.  

Not only has the programme gained wide support locally, it has also attracted international interest with NSRI Pink Rescue Buoy project is a finalist in the category Innovation and Technology category at the International Maritime Rescue Federation awards

Nicola and Nikki attended the Conference: HR in the DIGITAL AGE, and Nikki spoke to an audience of HR professionals on how to UNLEASH HUMAN POTENTIAL IN THE DIGITAL AGE.

Our Executive Financial Recruitment Consultant, Nikki Williamson, was invited to be 1 of 4 guest speakers at a SAIPA – South African Institute of Professional Accountants young professional launch hosted by Nedbank on Saturday 4th August.

Nikki’s speech focused on assisting job seekers with tips/pointers on CV preparation and presentation, interview tips and general industry information.

TrueNorth, specialist Financial Recruiters sponsored the 9th tee box at the Highbury Golf Day hosted at Kloof Country Club.

When we set off on our all-female Elephant Ignite Expedition (EIE) in 2016, we had no idea what kind of ripple effect we might be setting in motion. Our mission was to travel 15,000km through 10 Southern African countries to point the global spotlight on the plight of Africa’s gentle giants, which involved raising funds to support organisations dedicated to the preservation of elephants, assisting with community upliftment and youth conservation education.
It was during a session of youth conservation education at Mugurameno Primary School in Zambia (with the Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) organisation) that an opportunity presented itself to not only change the plight of African elephants, but also change a life. We were meeting with 12 of their students, who all belonged to the school’s Environmental Eco-Club.
We spent some time talking with the children, educating them about environmental issues, and that’s when we met Gloria. She was so attentive and constantly had her hand in the air to answer any question we asked. Gloria’s eagerness to learn really made an impact on one of our EIE crew members, Nikki Williamson, who wanted to try and help further Gloria’s education.

The ripple effect
When Nikki returned to TrueNorth Recruitment from the expedition, she contacted CLZ in her own capacity to see if she could sponsor Gloria’s schooling as a bursary, wanting to have a positive impact on Gloria’s life, and future. Nikki has been paying out of her own pocket for Gloria to go to school for the past year now – a wonderful ripple effect from the Elephant Ignite Expedition.
Nikki had just three conditions for the bursary:

• Gloria must retain her A aggregate
• She must complete a conservation project every term
• She must not fall pregnant.

Unfortunately, Gloria didn’t meet the first two conditions but Nikki is hopeful that she will improve with time to make the most of this opportunity. Nikki is planning on paying for the next year’s school fees as well, to set Gloria up properly and hopefully, inspire others to do the same.

Paying it forward
Gloria has just turned 15 years old and has changed schools (15 girls in her other school are pregnant) to attend Chitende Secondary School in Chiawa Village. Nikki was thrilled to receive a letter and copies of two of Gloria’s school projects recently, both of which were conservation focused: “How can we, in the community, protect elephants?” and “A tree planting project at Chitende Secondary School”.

In Nikki’s words:
“I just need to know that maybe one good deed inspires another, and that others catch on and pay it forward.”

Nikki’s generosity has helped to change Gloria’s life. In this world, there is no shortage of opportunities to change a life. Your act of kindness can create a positive ripple effect beyond what you might be able to see. So if you feel like paying it forward today, why not sponsor the education of a child?

If you are interested in sponsoring, please contact nikki@t-n.co.za

Article written by: Carla Geyser