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Sage Foundation programs

Sage Foundation is engaged in a range of development programs that provide support and funding to non-profits.

Pathways back to work

Sage Pathways is a support, development, training, and recruitment program designed to help people enter the workplace or return to work. The Pathways model delivers a series of work-readiness sessions covering interview tips, assessment center skills, personal branding and returning to work with confidence. We have delivered four programs, including virtual work readiness events in South Africa, the UK and North America. Of the 172 attendees, more than 70% were women. In South Africa, we hired thirteen people living with disabilities within our customer services and finance operations.
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FIRST LEGO League

To ensure the next generation has the right skills for the digital economy, we need to focus on developing STEM skills in young people. We have a long-standing partnership with FIRST LEGO League, a program that challenges young people ages 4-16 to build robots using LEGO bricks and components.
Read the FIRST LEGO League case study

$5 Million Fundraising Challenge

Since the start of our journey to support local non-profits through fundraising, Sage Foundation has worked with employees, business partners, customers and the community to raise over $3 million to support more than 1,000 charitable causes. We launched the $5 Million by 2030 Challenge to not only raise more than ever, but to help those who need it most. Over the past seven years, our community of fundraisers has walked, biked, run, climbed and hiked hundreds of thousands of miles to raise money for non-profits and causes close to their hearts.
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Case studies

These are just some of the projects that Sage Foundation is honored to support:

People living with disabilities are at times excluded from career opportunities through barriers such as discrimination, bias, unequal access and even the physical workplace itself. This includes access to the equipment needed to perform their work, which either may not be provided or if it is, may not always be adequate to meet each person's individual needs. Our global Sage Pathways program breaks through these barriers to help people living with disabilities to prepare to return to work. 

Specific initiatives include virtual work readiness sessions meant to engage those living with disabilities and who come from a number of different communities. These sessions encompass interview preparedness as well as help individuals train for assessments used by companies during the screening process. They also teach people how to showcase what they bring to the table, making it easier to return to work with confidence. In these sessions, we identify potential talent that we ourselves would like to bring on, as well as offer other skill development programs. 

We collaborate with specialized recruitment organizations and our Sage Foundation charity partners to specifically identify those living with disabilities so that they may participate in Pathways events. In South Africa, we have recruited 13 interns living with disabilities who now work in our customer service and financial services departments. This program has enabled us to reach some amazing talent that had been previously overlooked. 

“I have enjoyed my experience at Sage. My colleagues are extremely welcoming and have shown interest in who I am and where I have come from. Sage’s commitment to supporting people living with disabilities, which means deliberately providing that visibility within our workplace. It has not only offered me a job, but also provided me with the tools and skills to excel in my career.” – Kerry Walsh, Communication Specialist, Customer Services intern 

We have also increased awareness for our own employees about the barriers people living with disabilities face in the workplace. We are creating an environment in which employees with disabilities know they are valued and supported. 

“Sage has offered deep, individual engagement and support throughout this journey. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to collaborate with wonderful colleagues in a business that is genuinely committed to inclusion. The Sage Pathways program is an industry-changer that has opened a world of possibilities for me.” – Trevor Sephiri, Financial Operations intern

Elricco Govindasamy, a finance business partner at Sage Africa and the Middle East, is competing in seven cycle races covering more than 411 miles to create awareness about retinitis pigmentosa, a group of eye-related disorders which cause vision loss. The funds will be donated to Retina South Africa, a patient-led non-profit organization whose mission is to find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa. 

Elricco is embarking on this epic journey as part of the Sage Foundation $5 Million Challenge. To train for these, Elricco is biking more than 75 miles a week to reach his goal of improving his average speed by 0.6 miles per hour after each new race. His target through this fundraising is to raise R50,000 (about $3,400) in 2022 for the cause. 

“Some individuals go to bed with poor eyesight and wake up partially or fully blind the next morning. I want to be one of the activists who give hope to children robbed of a sensory childhood and adults who have conceded defeat to the darkness around them.” – Elricco Govindasamy, Finance Business Partner