80 people. 8 teams. 4 communities. 20 project experiences.
It’s officially been 15 years since Valcare opened office in Paarl on 1 April 2003. To celebrate, the organisation hosted its first annual networking event in the form of an Amazing Race.
The objective? To introduce the people, projects and partners that form part of the Valcare network to one another, but in a fun and immersive way.
A networking event with a twist
The Valcare Amazing Race took place on Friday 13 April 2018, starting and finishing at the beautiful Ashanti Estate in Paarl.
More than 80 people attended, eager to learn more about the collective movement that is happening in the Paarl valley and surrounding areas. Four colour-coded teams were randomly put together, and each team sub-split into two groups to cover as much ground as possible.
Twenty of Valcare’s 200 member organisations acted as race stops, offering a wide variety of volunteer-related assignments. This resulted in participants getting behind-the-scenes peeks into the amazing work that is being done by member organisations, whilst getting to know their team mates as well. Win-win.
Immersive community experiences
After the formalities, the teams jumped into their taxis with their ‘chauffeurs’ taking them to four different areas in and around Paarl, including Klapmuts, Wellington, Mbekweni and Paarl East.
The organisation stops and assignments included:
Klapmuts:
2nd Harvest – Peeling and cutting of onions.
Community Keepers – Learning a therapeutical method with sand-play.
Klapmuts Library – Finding books in the library.
Inceba Trust Toy Library – Making paint as décor for a crèche.
ABC Daycare – Painting and planting decorative flowers.
Wellington:
House Andrew Murray – Cleaning and tidying of the kitchen and bedrooms.
HJN – Collecting evidence as part of a fake crime scene.
Valley Agriskills – Making compost for gardens.
Wamakersvallei Training Centre – Participating in hospitality and home care practicals.
Inceba Trust @ Mosaic – Making play dough.
Mbekweni:
The Clothing Bank – Organising shoes and make-up.
Life Fantastic Educare – Learning a Xhosa song with hand movements.
Qolothani Makhosikazi Elder – Serving tea and coffee to the elderly.
Mbekweni Community Sport Centre – Participating in a variety of sport activities.
Mbekweni Youth Centre – Conducting administrative tasks and participating in fitness exercises.
Paarl East:
Amharic – Typing out CVs and playing cricket in the courtyard.
Khula Development Group – Midline crossing exercises.
Kiddies University – Learning a song from the crèche children.
Magda’s Soup Kitchen – Rolling and preparing vetkoek.
Monte Christo Miqlat – Presenting a puppet show and participating in gym activities.
Inspired, informed and encouraged
All the teams managed to complete their five tasks in the three hours and used the hashtag #DiscoverValcare to share their experiences. The team with the most social media posts, and coincidentally the team that crossed the finish line first, was the #WhiteTeam. They each received the coveted Valcare Certificate of Amazingness, as well as a floating up-cycled trophy made by one of Valcare’s organisations, LillyLoompa.
The participants had a ball of a time getting to know one another whilst receiving a first-hand introduction at what some of our members are doing. We trust that this was only the inaugural event for something that might become a tradition in the Paarl valley and surrounding areas.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of Valcare’s membership programme, please click here.
For a complete album with all the photos from the day, please visit Valcare’s Facebook page.
What attendees had to say:
As a team, we value the exposure we got to the various projects. It was truly informative, loads of fun and yet very humbling.
The community was so helpful and excited seeing that movement happening. My team enjoyed every activity!
It was so great to see what other organisations are doing to bring about change.
The event had impact and I had encouraging conversations and networking opportunities. Thank you for a well organised day!
It was a great relationship building and networking opportunity!
It was an unbelievable day and the organisation was great. Cheers to Valcare!
What a successful and blessed day! Thank you that we could be part of celebrating Valcare’s 15th birthday in a way that impacted many lives.
We are proud to be a partner of the Valcare platform! Congratulations with a successful initiative to introduce organisations to each other.
