Omron employees selected the UCPA, a shelter and housing facility for people with Cerebral Palsy, as their community service project.

Omron Industrial Automation- Johannesburg. South Africa

Founders Day is a yearly social responsibility initiative by the Omron Corporation globally.  “Beginning in 1991, employees around the world have marked the anniversary of OMRON's establishment, known within the company as "Founder's Day" by engaging in a wide variety of volunteer activities. Beautification projects, visits to schools, orphanages and retirement homes, blood donation and computer training are just of the few diverse activities through which we express our appreciation to the communities in which we do business.

These activities are performed during work hours; thus, OMRON provides opportunities for employees to give back to the community while on company time.  For Omron South Africa, the focus has been to identify projects where our specific products and the expert skill sets of our employees can make a difference,” Jennifer Steven, HR Manager, Omron South Africa explains.

Getting out of the office to spend time uplifting people in need of support has become an annual “Founders Day” tradition at Omron. At the beginning of each year, Omron employees are asked to give suggestions of organizations that they would like to assist. The recipients are then selected from the suggestions provided. This year, Omron employees identified the United Cerebral Palsy Association (UCPA) based in Townsview, Johannesburg.

The UCPA was established in the 1950’s by Harry Kessler whose daughter suffered from Cerebral Palsy. From then the organization has grown to accommodate 36 children and several adults. They provide round the clock care to these children, seeing to their basic daily needs.

Most of the children staying at the facility needs constant care. The UCPA is a residential as well as a day care facility and are licensed by the Department of Health.

The home is situated on a hill and is negatively affected by water stoppages, which in the area where they are located, is a regular occurrence.   Water is vital for the operation of an organization like the UCPA. Omron identified that they could install an automatic 5000-liter water storage system that will supply emergency water when a stoppage occurs.  Omron partnered with one of their distribution partners, System Integrator, Zipcord – who provided the expertise to create and install the system.  “We believe that this project will support the organization in their quest to provide quality care,” Jennifer explained.

In the current economic climate, NGO’s face enormous challenges to achieve the objectives of their organizations and rely on the contributions of organizations and citizens of the community. Charity work is very close to the heart of the Omron employees. ‘’Using in house technical knowledge and our business partners expertise to provide a solution that will improve the quality of care and assist those who provide the care, with a solution for challenges that could potentially create many complications,’’ Jennifer concluded.