Mpumelelo Mhlongo and BIC have joined forces to give away 71,200 pens to schools in need; that’s one pen for every 1mm of his record-breaking 7.12m jump!
South Africa (02 December 2024) – Mpumelelo “Mpumi” Mhlongo made South Africa proud when he jumped 7.12m at the Paralympics, setting a new Men’s T44 long jump record. To honour that achievement and make a “BIC” difference, BIC has committed to donating 71,200 pens to schools throughout South Africa.
In early November, Mpumi and BIC joined forces to get the ballpoint rolling for ‘Change Starts with One’ by launching the nomination portion of the campaign. With the help of Good Things Guy, the request was simple: nominate a school you love, to be a recipient of a donation of pens in 2025.
Nominations opened on the 9th of November 2024 on the Good Things Guy Instagram and Facebook page and will run until the end of January 2025. The 71,200 pens will be donated to a total of 12 to 14 schools, meaning each school would get up to 5,000 pens during the ‘back to school’ time of year.
Then, in March, the nominated schools will get their exciting pen donations. Mpumi will even visit some of the schools to personally hand out the pens.
Speaking about the amazing campaign, Amy Whittam, Marketing Manager for BIC Stationery, shared why the partnership between BIC and Mpumelelo “Mpumi” Mhlongo is such a meaningful one.
“This year, we drew similarities between our Buy a Pen Donate a Pen initiative and the inspiring story of the phenomenal South African Paralympian, Mpumi Mhlongo.
Through our partnership, we continue to highlight that change starts with one. Mpumi reminds us every day of the power of setting ambitious goals and working towards achieving them. To celebrate the power of ‘one’ BIC will donate a total of 71,200 pens to students in need; one for every millimetre of Mpumi’s record-breaking jump at the Paralympic Games.
Each pen donated will be a reminder to a South Africa student of the power of change, representing a step towards a better education, self-expression, and boundless ambition.”
The Buy a Pen Donate a Pen initiative is a long-standing one that sees BIC supporting schools with writing implements by matching purchases made. Every year, the company donates writing tools to empower 250 million students globally! The team committed to South Africa, hoping to share an additional 1 million writing tools in 2024.
“As a leader in stationery, we provide students with the necessary writing tools they need to perform academically, contributing to the wider lack of resources issue that results in the high school dropout rate of 41%. Through Buy a Pen Donate a Pen, we aim to put a pen in the hand of every student in need.” – Amy Whittam, Marketing Manager for BIC Stationery
BIC and Mpumi don’t plan on being stationary for long; get nominating so they can get busy planning to get out to the schools that need them most!
If you know of a school that could do with a stationery boost, nominate them by tagging them on either the Instagram post here, or the Facebook post here. Nominations close in January 2025.
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