City Lodge Hotels’ Mandela Day Efforts Highlight Giving Back
CITY LODGE HOTELS CELEBRATED MANDELA DAY WITH CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES ACROSS 59 HOTELS. THEY ENGAGED IN INNOVATIVE RECYCLING PROJECTS AND SUPPORTED NATIONAL AND REGIONAL CHARITIES.
City Lodge Hotels celebrated Mandela Day on 18 July with various charitable activities across its 59 hotels. The hotel teams took part in initiatives that supported national and regional charities, including innovative recycling and upcycling projects.
Mandela Day’s Charitable Activities Across Regions
In the East Rand airport area, hotels supported the Johannesburg Children’s Home by deep cleaning and painting cottages, and donating food. Sandton hotels assisted Ikholwa Hope Children Home with essential maintenance tasks. Pretoria hotels prepared soup for Rose Happy Times Elderly Home and treated children at Aruka Foundation to cupcakes and juice.
Umhlanga hotels organized an Amazing Race with Reach for a Dream Foundation, made sandwiches, and contributed to Chefs With Compassion’s #67000L Soup Drive. The George team joined 145 volunteers to pack 143 boxes totaling 30,888 meals for Rise Against Hunger. Cape Town hotels and support office staff treated Diemersfontein and Thokozani farm workers’ children to lunch, fun activities, and handed over school shoes, scarves, beanies, upcycled school shirts, and recycled soaps.
Mandela Day: Innovative Recycling Projects
One of the Mandela day’s highlights in Cape Town was the handover of school shirts made from retired hotel linen. A double bed sheet can be upcycled to create four school shirts for pre-primary and primary school children. This initiative will expand to other hotels, benefiting various organizations and children.
Another successful recycling story at Mandela Day involved new bars of soap made from used soap and shampoo bars. Bruce Turner, owner of City Lodge Hotels’ amenities supplier, The Bespoke Amenities Company (TBAC), developed a process to recycle these products. Used soap and shampoo bars are sanitized, minced, and reformed into new bars with a pleasant fragrance and marbled appearance. Each child at Diemersfontein and Thokozani wine farms received a bar of this soap, packed in a branded cloth bag.
Hotels contributing used soap and shampoo bars can receive recycled bars back for their initiatives. This circular economy practice, championed by TBAC, minimizes waste while benefiting people and the planet. Currently, this enterprise is only available in Gauteng, but there are plans to expand to other regions and hotel groups, creating an industry-wide initiative and generating employment opportunities.
Commitment to Giving Back
Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, Chief Operating Officer at City Lodge Hotels, expressed her gratitude: “This period of giving back has warmed our hearts as much as those we have been fortunate enough to bless with our activities. As a hotel group with the goal of ‘people caring for people’ at its core, we cherish these opportunities to make a difference. While we engage in charitable activities year-round, Mandela Day reminds us that generosity can take many forms – from goods and services to time and care. We are delighted to be a part of this global day of giving back.”
We give our nation’s hero, Nelson Mandela, the last word: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
About City Lodge Hotels
City Lodge Hotels is a prominent hospitality group with a strong commitment to social responsibility. Operating 59 hotels, they emphasize community engagement and innovative sustainability practices, ensuring their initiatives benefit both people and the planet.
