A Port Elizabeth company and a Northern Areas church have formed a partnership which aims to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people in Nelson Mandela Bay through running community projects together with local structures such as educational institutions.
Registered as BTD-DMSA Legacy Foundation NPC, the formal partnership between Bay Tool and Die Makers (Pty)Ltd and Dominion Ministries SA is built on a 10-year-old informal relationship between the company Managing Director, David Paxton and the church Senior Pastor, Tyrone Stydom.
Dr Arno Van Niekerk, a Professor in Economics at the University of the Free State was the keynote speaker at the launch of the partnership at the Famhealth Centre in Gelvandale on Friday, November 27.
“As Dominion Ministries is a church with a strong social impact in the community, the natural outflow of this relationship [with David Paxton] has now culminated in establishing the partnership,” says Styrdom. The foundation will address the corporate social responsibility of the company.
Strydom says the focus of the foundation will be to “break the cycle, keep hope alive and create opportunities”. It has kicked off with its first campaign, a “Keep Hope Alive for Christmas” project through which it is calling for donations of non perishable foodstuffs and children’s clothing to be distributed to families in need just before Christmas.
“lf you would like to donate, please call Bianca Strydom on o41 487 3222. We thank God for the establishment of this partnership between the church and business and we believe that together we can join hands in bringing hope to needy families. Together we can break the cycle, keep hope alive and create new opportunities for our children,” he says.