WoolWorths holdings limited 2013 good BUsiness JoUrneY report

CASE STUDY: WOOLWORTHS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
In 2003, Woolworths decided to further its investment
in communities through the Making the Difference
Programme. Drawing on our own expertise on good food
and in conjunction with the Western Cape Education
Department, the Sports Science Institute of South Africa
and its dietetic practitioner Shelly Meltzer and associates,
the Making the Difference Programme for primary schools
was launched, offering curriculum-linked resources for
Grade 4 teachers, as well as a number of experiential
components on the topics Healthy Eating and Physical
Activity. In 2008, in line with our Good Business Journey,
we extended the programme to include Sustainable Living.
We’re pleased to say that this programme is now used
in over 2 000 schools around the country, and, through
its resource material, interactive classroom activities
and teacher training, continues to make a valuable
contribution to the education and skills development of
South Africa’s young people. The content has now been
revised and expanded, and the target group broadened to
include the entire Intermediate Phase of Grades 4, 5 and 6.
The programme now includes three modules: Life Skills for
Grades 4 and 5, Social Sciences (Geography) for Grade 4,
and Natural Sciences and Technology for Grade 6.
Like the previous modules, the three new modules have
been developed in collaboration with the Western Cape
Education Department, and with contribution from the
Marine Stewardship Council, Woolworths Good Business
Journey team and our in-house and consulting dieticians.
All the material is curriculum based and designed to meet
the requirements of the new Curriculum and Assessment
Policy Statement (CAPS) introduced in January 2013.
Our experiential components include:
• Curriculum-based store tours focusing on where food
comes from and healthy eating.
• Learner Talks hosted in the classroom by dieticians.
• Class Lessons hosted by trained presenters using
storytelling, group participation and movement to
convey the messages of healthy and sustainable living.
• Moms’ Tours take moms on a tour through a Woolworths
store with a dietician, focusing on child nutrition.
• Schools are invited to attend EduPlant Workshops
teaching them how to grow food naturally using
permaculture.
• We also invite our schools to participate in a number
of events which include Arbour Month activities,
beach clean-ups across the country in celebration of
International Coastal Clean-up Day, and our annual
World Teachers Day competition, run in conjunction with
MySchool.