Add Hope is a fundraising mechanic bringing together customers, franchisees and employees to combat the growing issue of hunger in our country by raising funds for children's meals daily. This October, also known as World Hunger Month, KFC aims to give thousands of children across the country the hope to grow up to become the doctors, lawyers and engineers they dream to be, because they have food in their tummies.
CSR and Sponsorships Manager at KFC South Africa, Lauren Turnbull says, "CSR is not simply a 'tick-box' item. It needs to make a sustainable difference rather than involving ad hoc projects on the ground, otherwise we won't be able to build children in communities to be the next generation. Full tummies help children to learn, grow and thrive, and provides the foundation for the future leaders that this country deserves."
Add Hope now feeds over 70,000 children a month across the country, through the 90 carefully selected national and community beneficiaries it funds, having raised over R210 million in total from R2 Add Hope customer donations and KFC store contributions.
"Add Hope runs over 365 days a year and has done this continuously for the last six years. This allows us to make a sustainable difference to the children we feed in the communities we help. Sustainable programmes with the help of the local community are the only way to make a true impact," says Turnbull.
KFC also supports Add Hope as a business and is involved in uplifting the community, as every KFC store donates a percentage of its marketing royalty annually to Add Hope. Last year, this amounted to R23 million. This ensures that there is always funding for the feeding schemes and programmes that Add Hope supports.
"Add Hope's success is based on the joint donations of customers and KFC's restaurants. Over the next five years, Add Hope's aim is to feed even more children and help to bring the number of hungry children in South Africa down. We strongly encourage communities across the country to step up and get involved by finding ways to feed their communities, such as farming projects and other ways to reduce hunger and provide food security and nutrition," concludes Turnbull.
David Brown from Joint Aid Management South Africa (JAMSA), one of Add Hope's partners on the ground, believes that KFC is a company that cares for the community. "The funding we get for our feeding programme from Add Hope makes it possible for us to give thousands of children a better start in life by ensuring they have food in their tummies, so we can focus on other needs such as education, health and infrastructure development. Add Hope provides us with around 30% of our funding, amounting to just over R9.2 million a year, and this gives us a way to help the children achieve their dreams."
View the latest KFC Add Hope video here:
