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Powering brighter futures through Sunbake’s Back-To-School campaign
Schools are places where futures are shaped, potential is nurtured, and hope takes root. Yet for countless learners across South Africa, challenges such as limited resources and unreliable access to electricity continue to impact the learning environment and the opportunities available to them.
It is against this backdrop that Sunbake’s annual Back-To-School campaign once again set out to make a meaningful difference in the communities it serves.
Running from July to October last year, the campaign gave consumers the opportunity to nominate a school of their choice every time they purchased a loaf of Sunbake bread. In doing so, everyday purchases became acts of community upliftment, helping schools stand a chance to win transformative prizes designed to support both education and long-term sustainability.
This year’s campaign saw one school win a classroom upgrade worth R500 000, while four additional schools each received solar panel installations valued at R200 000.
Recognising the impact that electricity challenges continue to have on schools and surrounding communities, Sunbake introduced solar panel installations as part of the campaign’s grand prizes, providing schools with a more sustainable and reliable source of power to support teaching, learning, and day-to-day operations. In many ways, the campaign reflected what Sunbake has always stood for: bringing communities together and helping them rise toward a brighter future.
The winner of the classroom upgrade worth R500 000 was Khula Primary School in Piet Retief.
The winners of the R200 000 solar panel installations were:
- Khula Sizwe Primary School in Tembisa
- Kruitberg Primary School in the Free State
- Khujwana Primary School in Tzaneen
- Luka Primary School in the North West
While the campaign delivered much-needed infrastructure and resources, its impact reached far beyond the prizes themselves. It united communities around the shared hope of creating better opportunities for their children, reminding learners, teachers, and parents alike that meaningful change is possible when communities come together.
The initiative reflects RCL FOODS’ purpose of Growing What Matters by supporting the communities connected to its brands in ways that create meaningful and lasting impact. By listening to the realities communities face and responding with practical solutions, Sunbake continues to demonstrate how brands can play an active role in helping communities thrive.
For the learners and teachers at the winning schools, the prizes bring dignity, encouragement, and the reassurance that their futures matter. Reliable classrooms and access to power create environments where learners can focus on what matters most: learning, growing, and building brighter futures for themselves and their communities.
As communities across the country continue to navigate real challenges, initiatives such as the Sunbake Back-To-School campaign show the powerful role collective participation can play in driving positive change, one loaf, one school, and one community at a time.
