Forest Town School was the latest in a short list of beneficiaries of a donation by Johannesburg-based recruitment app company, Doober Technologies, who’ve developed an application that connects property owners to semi-skilled workmen.
Julia Scafidas, project manager at Doober Technologies, explained that the mobile application, Doober, has benefited their four chosen charities, including Forest Town School, in a big way since its launch about a year ago.
“The way that we’ve taken Doober to benefit the charities in question is that we’ve donated R25 000 in materials to the school,” said Scafidas. “We’ve also donated the labour to implement the painting work. In addition, we’ve handed Forest Town painting materials as well as two painters.”
Sizakele Nene, marketing, and communications officer at the company, however, explained that the app is not a traditional recruitment app which streamlines virtual applications from recruitment app companies to employers in exchange for payment.
“Doober basically screens [applicants] at a cost to us, whereupon we make sure that they are criminal record free,” explained Nene. “Furthermore, they have service and app training so they know how to provide a good service which is sort of a guarantee of safety.”
Forest Town, which caters predominantly for children with cerebral palsy – a disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture that is caused by damage that occurs to the immature, developing brain, most often before birth – currently looks after 355 learners with special needs at the school.
Ingrid Bay, fundraising manager at Forest Town School, said that although government grants add to the school remaining sustainable, a large pool of its funding comes from corporate-social initiatives.
“Doober approached us with corporate funding, and although fully sustainable, Forest Town needs to be fairly active with fundraising initiatives,” said Bay. “When we were approached to have a section of the school painted, we were really thrilled.”
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