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 function brings warmth for staff and the needy

Mid-year

The mid-year function held in June on the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark is an annual highlight, but this year’s was even more special: the idea was to give something back to the community, and especially to needy students.

Prof Linda du Plessis, who was still the campus rector at the time but has in the meantime been appointed deputy vice-chancellor for planning and for campus operations in Vanderbijlpark, thanked the staff for their hard work and reaffirmed the direction of the campus for the coming six months.

 

She also thanked the staff for their support and patience during the recent restructuring process, and encouraged them to make a positive difference to the people around them.

 

Warmth for the soul

With Mandela Day just around the corner when the event took place, the idea of giving was appropriate. The theme “Warm the Soul” promised that the givers would also receive something for their unselfish donations of “pre-loved clothes”. This was indeed the case: many of the givers agreed that it warmed their souls to know they had made a difference in someone else’s life.

 

The staff also had the opportunity to socialise with their colleagues away from the workplace, as the function was presented in the form of the campus’s first Winter Games, comprising a series of team-building games.

 

Teams face off

A total of 13 teams across the campus took part. The support staff brought teams from Food Services right through to Finances.

Undaunted, the academics proved they won’t take a back seat to anyone: various schools in both faculties registered and turned up to make a difference.

 

Each team had to create their own table decoration, displaying the theme of the day, Winter Games. The School of Languages took the honours in this competition by building a polystyrene statue of a Mexican snowman next to a small fire. This team unashamedly tried to woo the rector with toasted marshmallows and bribe the judges with fake money, resulting in their being named the group with the best spirit.

 

Fun and caring combined

The rest of the programme included a “build a snowman” competition (where one colleague had to be turned into a snowman with the aid of toilet paper), Winter Bingo and also a “pin-the-nose-on-the-snowman” competition.

 

The highlight of the day was the Frosty Fashion competition, using clothing that academic schools had collected for needy students. One colleague then had to dress up in as many pieces of clothing as possible. The team from the Quest Conference Centre won, having somehow managed to dress a colleague in an unbelievable 95 pieces of clothing.  The fun day, filled with much laughter, came to a suitably tasty end with some lovely soup and bread.