#DriveHope has contributed over R2.3 million in ‘random acts of kindness’ across South Africa since launching just 2 years ago.
South Africa (25 August 2022) – South Africans are inherently generous, but research has shown that the pandemic has heightened this love of our fellow man. SA moved up to number 21 out of 114 countries ranked by the CAF World Giving Index, particularly when it comes to helping strangers.
That’s why initiatives where we can give back – anonymously and otherwise – are taking off in SA.
“At Liberty, sharing the gift of knowledge – particularly education and literacy – has always been one of the central pillars of our business. But in 2020, we decided to expand the ways in which we gave back, which is why we decided to launch #DriveHope,” says Liberty’s Divisional Executive for Digital Marketing, Karen Denny.
During the KZN floods in April 2021, #DriveHope and the Liberty CSI team partnered with East Coast Radio to help those who were devastatingly affected by the floods and donated R200,000 to assist the community with food parcels, buying clothes, and restoring their faith and hope in humanity.
But this incredible initiative had humble beginnings.
#DriveHope started as a way for employees to nominate their colleagues and their communities who needed help, giving them a small boost to keep them going. However, as the pandemic escalated, the need to support more South Africans became more apparent as Liberty worked closely with communities near and dear to their staff. The platform was then opened to the public to nominate anyone who needed help during the global health crisis. Two years later, #DriveHope has contributed over R2.3 million in ‘random acts of kindness’ across the country.
The platform functions on a social media nomination system, where anyone can contact Liberty to nominate friends, family, or members of their community in need. Last year, Liberty reported that it had already assisted more than 5,000 nominees through financial assistance, care packages, food parcels, school supplies, and other essentials.
In 2021, Liberty worked with SA Harvest to fight the scourge of food insecurity. Though the aim was to raise enough for 30,000 meals, Liberty and SA Harvest more than tripled this number, raising funds for 136,000 meals and truly driving hope.
“The best thing that’s come out of #DriveHope has been the sense of ‘pay-it-forward’. People who have been helped have nominated others – a friend, a colleague, someone in their community. South Africans, at heart, just want to do good, and we are so glad we can help facilitate that,” says Denny.
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