With less than two months to go to the 94th Comrades Marathon, the organising body has launched its 2019 Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive at Comrades House in Pietermaritzburg.
The initiative is aimed at fostering wider support for charitable fundraising for the Comrades Marathon Association’s (CMA) six official charities; namely The Community Chest of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC), Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, Hospice Palliative Care of South Africa, Wildlands Conservation Trust and World Vision South Africa.
One of the main fundraising drivers of the Amabeadibeadi Charity initiative is the Toyota Win-a-Car Competition, whereby a brand new Toyota Corolla Quest will be up for grabs on Comrades Race Day, 9 June 2019. CMA Chairperson, Cheryl Winn said, “This is a truly significant contribution to the greater good from South Africa’s largest automotive manufacturer. We are ever so grateful to Toyota for so generously backing the CMA’s official charity initiative, thus enabling us to raise more funds to such worthy causes.”
Runners, supporters and the greater public can purchase raffle tickets from each of the six official charities as well as at the Pietermaritzburg and Durban registration points as of 11 April until 12 noon on race day, 9 June. The cost is R10 per ticket.
Another exciting part of the 2019 Amabeadibeadi campaign is the continuation of the Race4Charity initiative. Via this development, runners have the opportunity to “secure” their spot closer to the front of the Comrades start line and improve their seeding batch, while raising funds for a good cause. Over the years, Comrades runners have raised millions of rands through this fundraising innovation.
Race4Charity gives individuals the opportunity to not just make a difference, but to get people involved and race collectively for the benefit of charities. Runners can go to the Comrades website www.comrades.com and follow the Race4Charity link. Runners can sign up and choose which of the six Amabeadibeadi charities they would like to support. Click HERE for more information.
Mqondisi Ngcobo, who heads the CMA’s CSI and Official Charities Committee added, “The aim of the CMA’s fundraising platforms is to give back to the needy and less fortunate in a way that uplifts society and adds value to the lives of ordinary people. Our six official Amabeadibeadi charities are carefully selected to do just that and we are grateful for the hard work carried out by them on a daily basis.”
Senior Manager of Sponsorships at Toyota South Africa, Reche van Niekerk, says: “Our organisation is proud to be associated with both the Comrades Marathon and Amabeadibeadi Charity initiative. With Toyota business ethos built on a culture of respect for people, it is only fitting that we partner with a charity drive that is geared towards making a difference in the lives of the underprivileged.”
CMA General Manager, Keletso Totlhanyo says, ‘The Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive goes hand in hand with the indomitable Comrades spirit and gives back to the people of South Africa via the amazing work of our charities. We urge our runners to sign up and run for charity in order to effect a greater positive change in our country.’
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