This year Stellenbosch University’s (SU) annual fundraising campaign #It’sGivingMaties ran from 6 March and concluded on a high note with the GivingDay celebration on 16 April. Maties from all over the world – students, parents, faculty and staff, friends and alumni – came together to raise both money and awareness through the BridgeTheGap annual fund initiatives.
To celebrate and conclude this giving season, SU Development and Alumni Relations Division (DAR) hosted interactive activities, including the Forest of Giving, the Amazing Race, and the Pokkel Dash.
The Forest of Giving, held on 15 April, served as a prelude. Stakeholder groups were encouraged to participate and decorate trees on Victoria Street under the theme of student support and giving back. The event was accompanied by local vendors stationed along the street and live music at the steps of the SU Conservatorium.
According to Jana Gous, BCom (International Business) student and HC member of Minerva, “The big initiative is to […] show our participation in Giving Day and [show] that [residences] are here to show up and to participate – to essentially give at the end of the day.” Although the Forest of Giving is not essentially a money-making event, Gous remarked, “It does help [… to build] a sense of community and [make] people aware of the cause.”
In the ultimate fashion, #GivingMaties was not just giving back to our community but also reviving old traditions! The Amazing Race, SU’s equivalent to Formula One, took place on the Rooiplein.
“It’s traditionally known as Trapkarre. […] It’s been a big tradition of Stellenbosch back in the day but for some reason it disappeared. So this year we thought [… to] revive an old fun tradition that students used to participate in. And it looks like people are really enjoying it,” stated Alwin Mabuza, development officer for DAR.
Fuelling the festivities, the Pokkel Dash amped up the energy before Giving Day concluded by the prize-giving ceremony. Providing insight into the creation of PokkelDash, Stethen Liebenberg, a third year BAHons (Philosophy) student working with DAR on #GivingMaties, shared, “[…] Viwe [Benxa, the #GivingMaties organiser at DAR] […] presented […] the idea of Pokkel Dash, which was very rough and then we […] had to refine it. We came to this final product. […] It was a lot of steps, and trial and error. […] So, it’s not like it was instantly just born.”
Giving Day reflected the support of the community connected to and within Stellenbosch University. “I think it’s the best one we’ve had in years; […] we’ve surpassed the R100 000 mark and that’s the biggest we’ve ever raised on any Giving Day,” exclaimed Mabuza.
By Kerry-Lee Christensen
