OUR WHY
Wild Dreams story begins with Hayley Cooper, who in 2017, combined her passion for helping people and her love for wildlife. Starting as a recruitment agency, Wild Dreams aimed to assist job seekers in finding work while also funding Hayley’s dedication to rehabilitating wild animals.
Fast forward eight years, Wild Dreams has blossomed into one of the top recruitment, consulting, training, and coaching companies in Africa’s hospitality industry! Even with our growth, our core values haven’t changed. We’re not just about talking the talk; we’re all about walking the walk. Our mission is simple: to make a real difference in both conservation and community initiatives. We believe that to protect the environment, we must first empower the people who safeguard it. That’s why our focus is on people and the planet, all driven by a clear and passionate purpose. Our dream team includes our Sustainability Manager, Dominique, who works hand-in-hand with our non-profit partners, while Hayley leads our inspiring workshops. We’re always on the lookout for new partnerships to make the biggest impact possible. Read more to see how Wild Dreams is making a difference…
CONSERVATION
• Farm Sanctuaries: Greyton, Ashers, and Pigs & Paws (South Africa) – We offer free recruitment services so these sanctuaries can spend more on the animals instead of recruitment fees. Saving money means more happy animals!
• Care for Wild: Rhino lovers, this one’s for you! We help this global leader in rhino conservation with free recruitment services.
• Vervet Monkey Sanctuary: We adore monkeys! We assist with free recruitment, and volunteer placements, and have connected them with a non-profit chef training school. Chefs get training hours, monkeys get help – it’s a win-win!
• African Pangolin Working Group: These adorable creatures have our hearts. We support their efforts by securing auction prizes.
• Timbavati Traverse: Hayley is a founding member of this unique event that supports conservation and community projects. We donate annually to their raffle.
• The Jane Goodall Institute: A dream place to work, and we help by providing free recruitment services.
• Sheldrick Foundation: Elephants are our favourites! We proudly support this foundation financially.
• Alley Cats: Doing amazing work to prevent the overpopulation of stray cats and conserve the African Wild Cat, and we assist with free recruitment.
COMMUNITY
• Timbavati Foundation: Close to our hearts and homes, we offer work-ready workshops for their bursary hospitality students and train their management team to deliver these workshops in the community.
• Global Conservation Corps: Each year, we bring our career advice to their “Careers in Conservation” event for schools. It’s a fun day filled with education, talks, and a colourful run to wrap it up!
• Thornybush Community: We help bridge the gap for bursary hospitality students with work-ready workshops and online interview preparation.
• Tracker Academy: We support their incredible work with free recruitment services.
• Nourish: Partnering with them, we provide work-ready workshops and train-the-trainer models to empower the community.
• Wild Shots Outreach: From game drives to workshops, we support their photography students every step of the way.
• Motaung Hospitality Training: We assist by providing practical placements for hospitality students and collaborating on inspiring workshops.
SUSTAINABILITY (GENERAL)
• Abillion: Hayley is an ambassador for this platform that supports sustainability by reviewing vegan products and dishes. Use Hayley’s referral code HAYLEYCOOP when you sign up, and the $1 we earn goes to local farm sanctuaries.
• The Good Life Show: We’ve been working with this event (formerly the Plant-Powered Show) since its inception, showcasing South Africa’s best in sustainability. Enjoy a 20% discount with our code: WILDDREAMS20.
• Vegan Jobs Africa: Owned by Wild Dreams, we specialise in vegan recruitment, helping people find value-aligned careers. We also run a WhatsApp group for vegan job seekers.
GET IN TOUCH WITH US For more information on our initiatives or to get involved, contact Dominique at dominique@wilddreams.co.za.
We’re passionate about making a difference and are excited to share our journey with you. Let’s dream wild and make the world a better place together!
