‘You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give’ – Winston Churchill
This is one of the philosophy’s that we live by as an organisation. We have been blessed to operate successfully in the Johannesburg region for 20 years, and we feel that it is important for us to give back to the communities in which we work. We don’t see our involvement in social initiatives as an ‘obligation’ but something that we partake in with joy. ‘Giving back’ has become part of our culture as an organisation.
SW Contracts Kennel Competition
Recently we were chosen to be part of the SW Contracts Kennel Competition with a view to providing animals in underprivileged communities with homes. The Paragon Team worked hard to create beautiful kennels (made from recycled materials) as well as donate blankets, bowls and food for the animals.
On the 6th July SW Contracts chose Paragon Interiors to be part of a competition to decorate kennels that will be donated to dogs in need in local communities. Eager to help, Paragon Interiors took on the challenge to create beautiful homes for the animals. SW Contracts dropped off the kennels made from recycled products for our team to decorate according to three themes; save our planet, keep our area clean, stop animal abuse.
The Paragon Interiors team were thrilled to be part of a project with such a wonderful message and social outreach initiative. On a chilly Saturday morning our devoted staff woke up early and went to work. Each kennel was decorated with a different theme in mind. Those who could not be there physically were there in spirit by donating blankets, pillows, and food.
We are honoured to be part of such an initiative and thank SW Contracts for choosing us as one of the competitors.
We want to also thank all those individuals who worked on the kennels and donated their time or resources to this cause.
Luyanda Uthando Lwabantwana
In the past three years we have focused much of our socioeconomic investment on developing and improving the facilities of a day care centre in Alexandra called Luyanda Uthando Lwabantwana (LUL). Upon completion of the upgrade of the facilities – our efforts are now focused on assisting the centre to become more self-sustainable.
Luyanda Uthando Lwabantwana (roughly translated to ‘the love for the children is growing’) is a day-care centre in Alexandra Township run by Joyce Hlomuka, a selfless woman with a big heart for children. Joyce opened the day-care centre after realizing the need for a low-cost child care facility in Alex. Joyce currently has 38 children registered at the centre – between the ages of 3 months and 6 years old – and 6 high school orphans that stay with her permanently.
Every month is a struggle for Joyce. She charges parents a fee of R100 a month to care for the children but often does not receive payment. She accepts stationery or occasionally, a food item (i.e. a packet of mealie meal) from parents in lieu of fees.
When we began our relationship with Joyce and LUL in 2015, the building that she was in in 17th Avenue, Alexandra, was dilapidated and in much need of repair. The wall that surrounds her property was disintegrating and the roof and ceiling, near collapse – causing a great security risk for the children.
As our area of expertise is in interior design and construction, we focused much of our efforts on improving the facilities (both of Joyce’s home and the day-care building). Over the past 2.5 years we have facilitated the following changes and improvements:
Purchased bunk beds, new mattresses, linen and knitted warm blankets for Joyce and the girl orphans (the boys had recently a donation of bunk beds and linen)
Repaired the perimeter walls on the left and right sides of the property
Replaced the roof and ceiling tiles in the house and in the daycare centre
Repaired the plumbing in the facility – installed new taps, toilets, basins, a geyser and installed three showers for Joyce and the children
Rewired the electrics in the property and installed new lights
Installed splashback tiles in the kitchen area
Bought new tables and chairs for the daycare centre
Carpeted key areas in Joyce’s home and the daycare room
Built and installed a new gate
It is important for us to acknowledge the organisations who partnered with us in making these improvements by donating goods or offering significant discounts on their products and services – Ezee Tiles, Cast Industries, PPC Cement, Pro Active Plumbing, Hi Tech Nail Plate, Albano Interiors and MD Electrical.
With the facilities improved, our focus now is to help Joyce to become self-sustainable. One of the initiatives to assist with this involves salvaging items off our sites during the demolition process and asking our suppliers to deliver these items to Joyce to sell to the community in Alex as a supplementary income!
Preschools 4 Africa
At the beginning of last year, we broadened our social involvement to include an ongoing initiative to collect paper and age appropriate books for an organisation called Preschools4Africa. Every week we collect paper and books to help educate children in nursey schools all around South Africa.
At the beginning of 2017, we broadened our social involvement to include an ongoing initiative to collect paper and age appropriate books for an organisation called Preschools 4 Africa.
The objective of the Preschools 4 Africa is to mentor preschools and improve the overall standard of nursery school education in South Africa. They provide a programme (Play with A Purpose), equipment, ongoing mentorship and training to the schools that are registered with them. Their incredible vision is to have a preschool within walking distance of every child in South Africa!
At our first contact meeting with them, they expressed and urgent need for scrap paper (they were having to purchase paper for the children to draw on) and for books to begin libraries in each of their affiliated schools.
Our staff are determined to collect as much paper for them as possible. Paragon also matches the number of books donated by staff 1 for 1.
In addition to this, we have donated clothing, cupboards, reception desks, doors, carpet tiles and other items to the organisation. We are constantly watching what is demolished off our sites that could be useful for one of the nursery schools affiliated to PWAP.
Skills Development Initiatives
Above and beyond the daily on-the-job training and bi-weekly internal training workshops that we facilitate internally, we have embarked on an initiative to fund the studies of a very deserving final year interior design student at the University of Johannesburg. We have also offered internships to students to help them further their education in corporate interior design.
Traditionally, our skills development initiatives have been focused internally with bi-weekly staff training sessions on new products in our industry, office design and on the world of work, and on, upskilling employees with formal training (funding higher certificate studies).
In 2017, we extended our focus outwards and awarded a scholarship to a final year NDip Interior Design student at the University of Johannesburg. He is a truly impressive and talented young man who lives in Soweto. He had been relying on financial aid to get through his studies and we were honoured to help him in his third year.
He joined us for six weeks to fulfil the ‘experiential learning’ component of his qualification in 2017. We were excited to have him join us for a years’ experience at the beginning of 2018 as a full-time member of the design team.
Passionate about the development of young people, we are looking forward to expanding this initiative going forward.
We have enjoyed hosting other students for internships, and high school students for job shadowing, to help expand their knowledge of corporate interior design.
Our Social Economic Development and Skill Development Initiatives
Not sure if you can “fit” into your new office space or how much space you actually need?
A “test-fit” layout shows your office furniture and fittings’ requirements, to scale, on a plan. This determines whether the office space is sufficient for your needs but is not a final layout of the office.
A complimentary test-fit layout will be provided for an office space that is more than 150m², as long as an up-to-date scaled, computer drawing of the premises is provided to Paragon Interiors, and a full list of the office requirements. The plan will be provided within a reasonable time frame.
A checklist to the process in designing your office space
There may be many reasons for needing change in your offices. Your lease may have reached its end or you have outgrown your existing space and you are looking for new premises.Otherwise you may want to upgrade your office to better reflect your company image and retain your valuable staff members.
Whatever the reason, this is a great opportunity to improve your staff morale and communication, and in turn increase the engagement of your employees.When employees are engaged your company can only soar to greater heights!But where do you start with an office renovation or office move? Let’s start with your new office premises. We have the answers to what you should consider :
In this guide you will learn about:
Things to consider when choosing a new office space
Preparing for the move-useful tips
Have you ever stopped to think about how the world of work is constantly changing?
With increased interest in the employee experience, it has become essential for employers to create an office environment that motivates employees to come to work and provides the tools they need to perform their tasks efficiently.
Years ago there was little focus on the engagement, productivity, empowerment and inspiration of employees through office design. The office space can now be used a tool to attract and retain the right employees bt offering employees choice and control.
The new ways of working belong to successful companies. They are flexible and less tied to time and place.
The question is what is your company doing to cater for the employee experience?
In this guide you will learn about:
The shift in the world of work
How the shift is impacting employees
The impact of the shift on your business
The emergence of the employee experience
How to cater for the employee experience
How to design offices for the shift
Looking for a professional design company to renovate your offices?
Some things are easier to find than others. Looking for a professional design company to select for the job may fall on the list of less-than easy things to do.
Wouldn’t it be a relief to know that whether you are moving offices or renovating your existing office space, there are professionals that can handle the entire process for you.
This makes the office design process a lot less daunting. In this guide we will discuss all the platforms your business will need to consider when moving or renovating offices, as well as the benefits of using a professional design company.
In this guide you will learn how to:
Identify your objectives for designing new office spaces
Questions to consider when designing your offices
Recognising the challenges that you have in your current office environment
Benefits of good office design
Budget considerations
Benefits of using a professional team
Project deadlines-start and finish
benefits of using a professional design company
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Have you experienced the world of workshift? We can help you
Have you ever stopped to think about how the world of work is constantly changing ? No longer are we confined to office spaces or structured 08h00-17h00 jobs.The rise in digital technology has enabled people to connect 24 hours a day, there is no longer a work life balance as it has now become work life integration.
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