KATHRYN VAN DEN BERG
Prof Wim de Villiers – Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU) –gave a “shout-out” to the supporters of #Move4Food who “took the problem to heart and acted. Well Done.”
This was expressed in a short video posted on the GivenGain website. Robin Sillars, communications liaison for the GivenGain organisation, explains the intention of the online fundraising platform.
He said that “GivenGain… lets anyone –private individuals, sporting events, companies, etc – raise money for charity.”He stated that, as of 21 September, “almost R500, 000 has been raised so far for various charities in the build-up to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.
A full list of bene ting charities and the amounts raised can be found on the Cape Town Marathon fundraising page on GivenGain. According to the GivenGain website on which De Villiers expressed the seriousness of the situation by further emphasising that “we’ve got to do something about it [student hunger] – that is why I decided to Move for Food.” In order to express his joy at the success of SU’s efforts with the GivenGain platform, Sillars personally contacted Die Matie and said that “I wanted to share the amazing fundraising success that University of Stellenbosch vice chancellor Wim de Villiers has had using the Cape Town Marathon to fundraise for charity on GivenGain.
Leading by example, Prof De Villiers has raised over R56,000 for the fantastic #Move4Food campaign that aims to make sure SU students don’t go hungry.”
Sillars also said how the number of participant fundraisers getting involved with the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon increased dramatically. He quoted that involvement “more than tripled, and the amount raised so far has increased by just under 300% from 2017 to 2018.” Wim appeals to students to join the movement and states that the goal is that “along with our Division for Development and Alumni Relations, they [Move4Food] have launched a campaign to raise R10 million in 100 days to make it sustainable over three years.
The campaign started on 20 August, and will conclude on Tuesday, 27 November.Sillers also appeals to students and alumni to “follow your vice -chancellor’s example and support their favourite charities at the event.” He further said: “we think if people only realised their power to change the world, they’d go out and just do it!”
PHOTO: Supplied
