Westcon International social investment report

Westcon International’s goal is to improve education for the next generation and to support local charities in the communities that they operate in. Westcon International supports a variety of corporate and employee-led charitable initiatives, providing time and resources to improve the communities where its employees live and work. Below are some examples of the many initiatives that have been undertaken this year:

NORTH AMERICA

Westcon International North America continues to support the community by donating to local charitable non for profit organizations such as Toys for Tots and Meals on Wheels.

EUROPE

Westcon-Comstor Iberia collaborate with non-profit organisations whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social wellbeing. One of the projects helps children with health problems through a caps recycling initiative to help cover some of their needs.

The Central European region joined efforts to support the Arbeiter Samariter Bund charity to help the victims of the flooding in the West of Germany in September 2021 and together with other business partners, donated to villages heavily affected. It also helped a local school by providing poly conferencing systems and HD cameras. Comstor Berlin made donations to a Children’s home Die Arche and donated 90 iPhones to the SOS Kinderdorf, a children’s home.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

WestconGroup SA continues to support the JB Marks Education Trust by providing bursaries to black students who study Information Technology at tertiary institutions for the dependents of the members of the National Union of Mineworkers. It also offered a schooling assistance programme supporting the children of employees through bursaries that will fund primary and secondary education. During the KwaZulu-Natal riots in South Africa in 2021, food hampers were supplied by the South African staff to families that were impacted by this uprising. Westcon Africa entered into a partnership with Rising Above the Storms (“RAS”) a global non-profit organisation providing aid in Rwanda. RAS is dedicated to advocating for at-risk and vulnerable youth. Through this partnership the business sponsored 10 youths for their education and schooling needs for a full year. It enabled the setup of a computer lab named “Comstor and Friends E-Lab” (this was in partnership with its Business Partners in Rwanda) to introduce the disadvantaged youth to technology early in life. Westcon Africa also contributed towards the purchase of sanitary products for girl health (equivalent of one year supply).

In the UAE, toy donations were made to a children’s hospital and food hampers were supplied by UAE staff to the labour camp.

ASIA

Many community service events have been held by Westcon International’s teams in Asia:

In Singapore, a Westcon “Walk for Charity” was organised, not only to get fit, but to turn miles into charity. 98 participants walked along the East Coast Park/MacRitchie Nature Trail and Reservoir Park/Hort Park. US$15 405 was raised for Singapore Association for Mental Health, eligible for dollar-for-dollar donation matching grant from the Singapore Government Tote Board, a total of US$30 810.

Westcon Middle East – Children's hospital toy donation

In Malaysia, help was offered to families in need by distributing eggs to them, in the hope of enhancing the nutritional value of what they eat. In Indonesia, events were organised where employees prepared, cooked and distributed meals to low-income workers. In Thailand, money and food items were donated towards Foundation for Children.

New Zealand

During FY22, the Asia-Pacific region introduced a ‘Community Service Day’, eligible for all employees across Asia-Pacific to dedicate to their local communities, charities or not‑for‑profit causes. This corporate social responsibility initiative was driven out of a desire to support the rebuild of those impacted most from the Covid-19 pandemic, whilst also providing employees an opportunity to come together as a team or individuals to give back to their communities.

The New Zealand team dedicated several mornings to volunteer their community service day to ‘Eat My Lunch’, a charity to support children who go without lunches and food during school. As well as the community service day, Westcon New Zealand formed a partnership with Starship Children’s Hospital. This has helped provide the team a clear connection with an important local cause and so far, a number of fundraising events and toy collections have been carried out.

Australia

Despite the Covid-19 lockdowns, the Westcon Australia team participated in STEPtember last year. They raised over US$4 000 and stepped over 10 000 000 steps for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.