Poetry’s Change Makers’ Platform Spotlights Women Reshaping South Africa
This women’s month, local South African fashion brand Poetry launched their Change Makers initiative, and partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator to donate pre-loved dresses to disadvantaged job seekers.
The Poetry Change Makers initiative shines a spotlight on remarkable women reshaping South Africa in their respective fields of interest. From fostering entrepreneurial skills, empowering the underprivileged through education, combating the stigma around period poverty, championing the mental health discussion and more. These women represent different sectors with their various NGOs, businesses and outreach programmes.
“The Poetry Change Makers initiative aims to highlight women who are making waves in their communities and changing the trajectory of the lives of others. We hope that by sharing these women’s stories and amplifying their voices we can ignite a collective fire that drives more people to get involved in the various causes and conversations to make a difference, big or small” - Hannah Neil, Head of Marketing for Poetry.
Poetry hosted their inaugural Change Makers event on Thursday 15 August in Cape Town, bringing together twenty women; including change makers, women with influence and select media. The event featured a long table discussion aiming to drive impactful dialogue and generate much-needed awareness for the vital work being done to uplift women and address pressing social issues in South Africa. “Our goal was to facilitate connections and build communities that would transcend this two hour event. This really was the start of what’s to come” added Neil.
Among the change makers attending was the founder of Agenda Women, Nomndeni Mdakhi - a powerful advocate for female entrepreneurship. Her online platform and annual summit create pathways for women to take their businesses and career to the next level. Driven by a passion for education, Gina Bennett founded Safe Study during the pandemic - an after-school enrichment programme for children to learn valuable extramural skills in a safe space. Gina was volunteering at a soup kitchen when she identified a need within the community for children to have a place to go that would foster learning and creativity. As an advocate for mental health, occupational therapist Makungu
Valoyi founded Adocacy4MentalHealth, an informative Instagram page that she curated to share evidence-based tips to manage mental health illnesses and to end the stigma around it.
Other change makers in attendance included Sabrina Walter, the founder of Women For Change and an activist against gender based violence and femicide, and Tara Roos, director of SoWeVote, a grassroots organisation striving to keep Gen-Z informed about the government and getting them registered to vote.
In tandem with launching the Poetry Change Makers platform, Poetry has partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a non-profit social enterprise that tackles youth unemployment, on their SmartWorks programme. Poetry has embarked on a nationwide donation drive to help young work-seekers make a first impression at their interview or first job by asking their customers, and the public, to donate their gently worn dresses, smart shirts, pants and blazers. Drop offs can be made at any Poetry flagship stores nationwide, including Canal Walk, Brooklyn, Gateway, Sandton and Stellenbosch, in the months of August and September.
“The barriers that women face in accessing opportunities are higher and harder than those of men. Thanks to this partnership between Poetry and Harambee's SmartWorks initiative, young women across the country will be able to go to interviews feeling confident, increasing their chances of landing work!” - Zengeziwe Msimang, Harambee’s Chief Communications Officer
Connect with Poetry on Instagram #PoetryChangeMakers @poetrystores @poetryofliving
Learn more about Poetry Change Makers on their blog.