(Racine, WI) – Ten fully-loaded, Apple iPads will arrive this week to the Jubilee Academy in Uganda, courtesy of PointOne Recruiting Solutions, an affiliate of MRINetwork, one of the world’s largest executive search and recruitment organizations. Scott Petersen, president of PointOne, will hand-deliver the tablets with wife Shawn to the school which is located about an hour from the city of Mbale. Through its relationship with a local non-profit group, Water Health & Education Development East Africa (WHEDEA), PointOne pays 100 percent of the school’s operating budget, supporting 500 children in grades kindergarten through eight. The iPads will help connect the children with the global community and enhance their reading and writing skills.
The trip to Uganda is just one example of PointOne’s culture policy of changing lives, a mission that was developed by the company’s team of recruiters. “We know that we change the lives of our candidates every day with new career opportunities,” says Petersen, “however it’s also important to us to impact people outside of our business through life-changing experiences.”
Through its relationship with WHEDEA, PointOne is deeply invested in changing the lives of the children at the school and in their village. Petersen serves on the board of directors, providing strategic business counsel to the organization about how to further its mission and accomplish its annual goals.
“With the delivery of the iPads, we want to plant the seed that opportunities and possibilities exist for them beyond life in the village,” says Petersen. “Our intent is to support WHEDEA’s mission of teaching people to use their resources to eliminate poverty.”
Partnering with WHEDEA was something Peterson felt compelled to do after learning the non-profit’s directors were leaving their comfortable lives in Racine to oversee the organization’s operations in Uganda. “The entire office supports our mission,” says Petersen. “We all believe strongly that the best way to leave our mark on the world is help people change their lives and shape a better future.”
The iPad donations are only part of PointOne’s efforts on behalf of the village and the school. Their previous fundraising efforts helped WHEDEA build a new water well to supply the village with clean water. Other long-term WHEDEA projects – including the construction of another larger well – are aimed at further improving the village’s well-being and are also supported by the team at PointOne.
Building a chicken coup and a farm where villagers can grow and buy food are also vital components of the plan. “This will help the villagers to become self-sustaining and will also put money back into the community and the schools,” observes Petersen.
Plans are underway to build a high school and a vocational/technical school to provide education beyond the eighth grade. Another orphanage is also being built to house abandoned babies, something that is a pressing need, says Petersen. “Because of the abject poverty, desperate parents sometimes abandon babies, leaving them for dead in Uganda,” says Petersen. “The directors of WHEDEA want to develop more facilities to nurture these babies and provide them with the opportunity to lead productive lives.”
Scott and Shawn Petersen are thrilled to be able to hand deliver the iPads to the school, and plan to video the event so the people back home at the office can experience the joy that they helped to create.
“We are all products of the choices we make,” says Petersen. “There is great power in understanding that your choices belong to you and nobody else.”
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Learn more about WHEDEA at http://whedea.com/about-whedea/
About PointOne:
Founded in 1981, PointOne Recruiting Solutions has grown to rank among the top five offices within MRINetwork®, one of the world’s largest executive search and recruitment organizations. Specializing in banking, financial services, manufacturing, engineering and construction searches, PointOne ensures that clients benefit from the company’s expertise in their industry niches and from their ability to locate and recruit exceptional candidates.
About MRINetwork®:
Management Recruiters International, Inc., branded as MRINetwork®, is one of the largest executive search and recruitment organizations in the world. A subsidiary of CDI Corp. (NYSE:CDI), MRINetwork has over 700 offices in 35 countries. Visit MRINetwork at www.mrinetwork.com.