Mellon Educate is calling on engineers to support its work by volunteering for its one-week Building Blitz this November in South Africa.

More than 25,000 people have volunteered with Mellon Educate to date, which has already built houses for 175,000 homeless people in South Africa’s poorest townships and improved learning conditions for more than 50,000 disadvantaged primary and secondary school children in 32 African schools. 

Selfless action

This was only possible because ordinary people took selfless action to do something truly extraordinary, lend a helping hand on its annual one-week Building Blitz in South Africa.

This year the charity is asking for engineering companies to support staff who would like to volunteer by sponsoring or part sponsoring volunteer fundraising and/or providing volunteer days.  

With the help of volunteers and supporting businesses Mellon Educate aims to improve standards of education for 100,000 children in Africa.

This year’s Building Blitz will take place from November 14-21 in a township near Cape Town and is a one-week opportunity of a lifetime that will help change the lives of thousands of impoverished children in South Africa.

Construction experience helpful

Construction experience is helpful but all you really need is a willingness to muck in and work hard. Volunteers are asked to raise funds to cover the cost of materials, logistical costs while in South Africa and the ongoing charity work of Mellon Educate in South Africa. 

Volunteers will return with an experience of a lifetime and friendships that will last, long after the blitz has ended. Mellon Educate has had thousands of volunteers from Ireland, South Africa, the UK and the US. Many have done so repeatedly after being bitten by the blitz bug!  

Last November, the Building Blitz was held in the township of Mfuleni, 40 km from Cape Town. The volunteers worked on a primary and secondary school in the heart of the township. 

Impacting the quality of education

Three hundred volunteers helped build 11 new classrooms, one playground, three covered shelters, one library, two ablution blocks, one outdoor gym and improved sports facilities impacting the quality of education for more than 2,900 children in just one week! 

Many of these volunteers were supported in their fundraising endeavours by businesses back home in Ireland and the UK. Mellon Educate is an Irish-based African development charity founded by developer and philanthropist Niall Mellon in 2001.

In 2013 the charity began to focus on building or renovating schools and committed to a 10-year education development programme to provide better education to more than 100,000 African children. To date, more than 50,000 children have benefitted.

One-week opportunity of a lifetime

The Mellon Educate Building Blitz is a one-week opportunity of a lifetime to meet people from all walks of life who want to make a difference. Nelson Mandela once described the work of Mellon Educate as “inspirational”. It is the volunteers who make it so. 

If you or your business are interested in hearing more about the Mellon Educate Building Blitz please contact Eimear Murphy by email at eimear@melloneducate.com or call +353 1 494 8200. 

For further information on Mellon Educate please see melloneducate.com 

Full media library is available on melloneducate.com/video-library/