Tag: Employee volunteering

Steve Rae gives us an overview of slope protection and water drainage at the village.

Steve Rae gives us an overview of slope protection and water drainage at the village.

By DR June Sanico Leave a comment 19 Jun 2017

In this video, Steve Rae gives us an overview of water drainage and slope protection in the village. 

Thank you Steve for giving us such knowledgable advice and support. 

If you have expertise in a particular field that would be beneficial to the village please get in touch info@gregseckerfoundation.com

 

 

 

 

Steve Rae volunteers his time and energy to the Foundation Village.

Steve Rae volunteers his time and energy to the Foundation Village.

By DR June Sanico Leave a comment 1 Jun 2017

This week (1st – 7th June) is the beginning of Volunteer week. Steve Rae is an amazing example of volunteering his time and energy to the Foundation and we ask you all to take the time over the week, to help in your chosen way. Whether it is offering your help to us, or your preferred charity, volunteering work is valuable to us all, and very much appreciated.

Here are a few words from Steve about his experience volunteering at our village.

“My first impression of the Greg Secker Foundation village was WOW, and that view became more impressive over the next few days.

The villagers were absolutely lovely people. They were warm and friendly, and incredibly excited about the project – they LOVED Greg Secker, not only for his generosity in funding the project, but his personal touch when he visits the site, and they spoke about him with a huge amount of hope and excitement in their eyes.

In my time with Learn to Trade (Sydney) I had been moved by the update videos on the village with the heart warming stories of local people who will benefit from the generosity of the Greg Secker Foundation. It was just amazing to have the opportunity to meet these people myself, and to hear their stories face to face, …especially young Fatima who received a life changing operation to remove a large tumour. She is now the happiest girl in town and catching up on her school work. She is already enjoying a better and brighter future thanks to the Greg Secker Foundation.

The building site looked very challenging, …beginning with virgin land in the foothills outside a remote village with no infra-structure or utilities only months ago – the project team and contractors had already done a great job in completing 50 houses. There is some urgency to complete the remaining site infrastructure (slope protection, drainage channels and internal roads) before the on coming wet season.

My role was to provide some engineering support to the Project Team, and I had the opportunity to meet with the local engineers to discuss the detail design for the slope protection. The main area of focus being an almost vertical escarpment over 10m in height, which required a substantial retaining wall to prevent the subsidence of 6 houses that would be built on the higher level. How can you resist a technical challenge like that!!

I learned during my visit that this project is not just about providing a home to 100 families, but the Greg Secker Foundation genuinely wants to create a better future and change their lives. This vision is backed up by many initiatives, including a training facility at the village for greater employment prospects. This has to be the gold standard in rebuilding a village!!

My visit to the village as a volunteer was very rewarding and I am definitely keen to contribute further to this Foundation that is making such a difference to peoples lives.”

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVFy857EGKY&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Learn to Trade Manila Employees, Volunteer at the Foundation Village.

Learn to Trade Manila Employees, Volunteer at the Foundation Village.

By DR June Sanico Leave a comment 10 May 2017

Corporate Social Responsibility is very important to Greg Secker, (CEO of Learn to Trade, Smart Charts, FX Capital and the Founder of The Greg Secker Foundation). All employees are encouraged to participate with Corporate Social Responsibility whether it is though the Tradeathon Fundraising Events held regularly across all regions, or volunteering on site at the village.

Learn to Trade Manila employees stepped up last weekend and are the first region to visit the site this year. 14 employees arrived on site from the city and were set to work by DR, our project coordinator!

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The first task was to begin with tree planting; 40 seedlings of the Jackfruit tree were planted. Our future plans are for the village to be as sustainable as possible so planting these trees which produce between 100-200 fruits a year will be a great source of fresh produce for the beneficiaries.

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The flavour of the fruit is described as tasting of a combination of pineapple, apple, mango and banana and after roasting the seeds these can be used as an alternative to chocolate! The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous and a great source of dietary fiber.

Jackfruit      

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The team then decided to split into boys and girls with the girls doing some landscaping….

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… and the boys deciding to help with construction work on the houses. However, it didn’t take long though for the girls to go and watch the boys and then join in with the construction!

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Thank you to “Team Manila” for your valuable help.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact one of our team on info@gregseckerfoundation.com.

 

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Greg volunteering on site

Greg volunteering on site

By Marie Sorli Leave a comment 23 Jul 2016

The time has finally come. Greg and some of the directors of his companies have the past few days been volunteering on site, doing tasks such as painting, landscaping, and filling sand bags. 

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We started the trip with a groundbreaking ceremony for the new iteration of houses.

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We are close to completion on the first iteration with 20 homes, with the next iteration of 30 homes now underway.

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The foundation is very close to Greg’s heart and working for the foundation is like being adopted into the Secker family. It was therefore a no-brainer that he brought his parents along to the trip. John Secker was painter extraordinaire and Sandy Secker was the chief water woman!

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Everyone was put to work during the day, even Micheal, one of our donors who just sponsored a family home. Micheal spent his spare time from filling sandbags, getting to know the family that he is giving a new lease in life.

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In the evening we celebrated with the workers and beneficiaries. Karaoke is very big in the Philippines, so each night when the sky became dark, the Karaoke machine was put to work. Young and old gathered together to sing, some better than others, but all entertaining in their own way.  

First Employee Volunteers

First Employee Volunteers

By Marie Sorli Leave a comment 3 Jul 2016

For years Greg’s companies have been supporting the charity financially. Now staff have a chance to get hands-on and get a personal connection with the project!  The first Employee Volunteers went out on the 25th of July and were on site till the 1st of July.

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Abi, Barbie and Jonny from LTT UK, SA and Phil have been great and got properly stuck in with painting. It’s been a very warm week, with the occasional thunderstorms, but the team have just carried on and worked really well with our engineers and workers. 

DR and I are very happy to have had the opportunity to work with them this week and see first hand their enthusiasm for the project grow day by day. 

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On day four of volunteering, our dedicated team met with Raffy. Raffy is one of the Foreman on site, currently leading a team of 8 workers to build two houses of the first 20. Raffy and his family are one of the many beneficiaries of the project. He showed the volunteers his handy work and stopped outside what is to be his and his family’s home. He was very proud when he told them about the hard work and love he’s put into the building and made them all laugh by claiming it’s the best looking out of all of them! (They have identical designs). It was a very busy day where the volunteers painted not one but three houses! The highlight though is the truly humbling experience of meeting such great and inspirational people like Raffy.

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As well as painting houses, the volunteers have also helped with the beneficiary selection. They have gone through close to 150 applications and rated them as yes, maybe or no. The first stage of beneficiary selection has now finished and stage two is due to start, with Greg taking over the helm. 

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Next employee volunteers to come on the site is Greg and some of the directors of his companies! I for one am really looking forward to telling my boss what to do on a construction site. Now that is something that doesn’t happen every day. 

This cannot be missed, so stay tuned! 

Employee Volunteering

Employee Volunteering

By Marie Sorli Leave a comment 15 May 2016

We are so happy to announce that we will be starting a brand new volunteering programme with Learn to Trade, Capital Index, Smart Charts and FX Capital! Starting in July we will be hosting the employee volunteers at our Build a House, Build a Home project. The employee volunteers will be assisting the workers with a variety of tasks, all from painting to landscaping, and construction.

The first employee volunteers will be on site from the 27th of June until the 1st, to then be followed by Greg and some of the directors of his companies mid-July. We cannot wait to show them the progress of the project, and to introduce them to our lovely beneficiaries! ÂÂ