SPAR strongly believes in giving back to the community so it was wonderful to receive the news that the Eastern Cape Management had donated over R100K to three charities in need.
The Eastern Cape division of SPAR recently held their 22nd annual charity golf day at the Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth. Every year three charities are selected to be the beneficiaries of any money raised at the event.
This year the corporation chose the Sweethearts Foundation, the Elsen Acadamy and the Zwartkops Conservancy. Each charity was contacted and invited to attend the event. The total amount raised for the charities was split equally between them and smiles were seen all around.
The event is attended by suppliers, retailers and the staff of the Distribution Centre. The event is hosted to help consolidate relationships with suppliers and service-providers but the ultimate focus is to make a difference within the community.
“This is another opportunity to assist those who are trying to make the world a better place and for those who work so hard to make the lives of people less fortunate a little better.” – Alan Stapleton, SPAR EC sponsorship and events manager.
Each charity was given R35,000.00 to be used to continue the work they do within the community.
The Sweethearts Foundation
The Sweethearts Foundation, founded five years ago, has a two-fold objective – to assist those in need by generating funds for wheelchairs and to look after the environment.
National marketing director Ashley Nel, who lives in Port Elizabeth, said their big focus was on the plastic tops and tags collection, which had helped them donate a total of 252 wheelchairs since their inception.
“We urge the public to provide us with plastic bottle tops and bread tags, which we then sell to recycling organisations, generating funds for wheelchairs,” he said.
“In our five years, we have had only one significant corporate donation and when Alan [Stapleton] invited us to be a golf day beneficiary, the hairs on my arms stood up.
“The bulk of the money of an external donation such as this will be used for buying wheelchairs and a small portion will go to our marketing requirements,” he said of the non-profit organisation.
The Zwartkops Conservancy
Under the chairmanship of Port Elizabeth resident Frank Collier, the Zwartkops Conservancy has three major methods whereby it seeks to maintain the environment in the Zwartkops River Valley.
“A 50-year-old watchdog against pollution, we employ litter pickers who pick up hundreds of bags of litter in the river and along its banks every week,” he said.
“We also have a massive conservation education programme which has been running for many years. It’s expanding and we are now talking to more than 40 schools in Motherwell about pollution education.
“And thirdly, we are negotiating with the metro to take over the maintenance and management of the Zwartkops River Valley on their behalf.”
He said the conservancy depended on public donors to fund its activities and paid tribute to SPAR for their support over many years.
“For example, when the metro stopped paying the litter pickers in 2016, SPAR Eastern Cape stepped in to cover the cost for nine months.
“It’s not only about the financial backing from them but also the moral support they provide in assisting us to reach our objectives.”
The Elsen Acadamy
Founded by Philippa Fabbri in 2006, Elsen Academy is an independent school based in Central in PE, registered as a non-profit organisation. It caters for children who, for varying reasons, struggle in the larger school environments.
Fabbri said there was a massive need for a school such as Elsen Academy, where they taught their pupils a wide variety of skills.
“It is fantastic for us to be involved with a golf day such as this and we are extremely grateful for the contribution from SPAR,” she said.
“We are busy creating a Makerspace at our school to teach the pupils a number of practical skills and a donation such as this allows us to purchase the equipment to make this initiative a success.”