Raising funds for the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital - Cape Town, South Africa

In 2009 my young grandson, Tristan, suffered burns to his upper body and was treated in the phenomenal Burns Unit at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. It was an extremely traumatising experience for us all and introduced us to the reality faced by so many sick children and their families who have to deal with this kind of trauma.

We are so grateful for the wonderful care and support Tristan received at the Hospital from doctors and medical staff that we decided, as a family, that it would be fitting for us to be able to give back in some way. I’ve therefore committed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in July 2010 and will attempt to raise much needed funds for the Hospital.

100% of money I raise will be allocated directly to upgrade the Burns Unit - every cent donated to the Hospital Trust will directly benefit the Hospital.

Ultimately, the purpose of this project is to raise funds for an extremely deserving cause. I have given a personal guarantee to match the amount I must raise in sponsorships in the form of financial donations to the Trust.

I am very excited about being able to make a difference and sincerely hope you will be able to come on board with me in helping to get other sick children back home where they belong!



This is how you can get involved....

DONATE A SKILL

If you have a skill that you would like to 'donate' instead of money, this slot is for you.

I will create an event around what you have to offer and 100% of what people pay to attend will be donated to the hospital.

The hair spa day held in March at the Wayne.com salon at the One and Only Hotel is an example of such an event. We were able to raise R5250 on that day.

PLEDGES

Kilimanjaro is 5895m high. You can decide to pledge a certain amount per meter that I climb. You can email your pledges to me at: ferreira@netpoint.co.za OR you can download a pledge page from the section on the right of this page and fax it to me.

If you can't pledge yourself, how about getting your company to pledge and to perhaps even challenge other companies to match or better their pledge!!

DONATE ONLINE OR BY BANK DEPOSIT

On the right hand side of the blog, near the top, there is a section that includes a direct link to the hospital's website.

Read all the directions before clicking on the link, it is important for the hospital to be able to allocate your donation correctly.

The hospital trust will issue a tax certificate for any donation over R100, so that's an extra bonus for both individuals and companies!

AUCTION

I am currently collecting goods to offer on an auction to be held later this year - anything that we can turn into money is welcome!

Just to give you a sample of some of the things we have at this stage: three TOP NOTCH bottles of South African wines, compliments of Janet Malherbe, and five signed copies of a book written by the adventurer and master fundraiser David Grier!

For more info on David: http://www.davidgrier.co.za/

I'd love to be able to offer nights away at wonderful places in our country, romantic dinners at special restaurants etc. So if you have any connections or have something that you can offer yourself, I'd love to hear from you!

Just to make double sure you have my contact details - here it is again: ferreira@netpoint.co.za





Tristan enjoying being a healthy, happy little boy!


my blog entries

Will try and update on a regular basis!! :)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Winding down...

Slowly but surely my Kili 2010 adventure is busy winding down. I am still hoping to follow up shortly with the story of the little boy I met at the hospital, I'm just awaiting the necessary permission to continue.

As for the fundraising - we'll have a total amount soon, we are still waiting for one or two companies who have committed to donate.

We've had wonderful press coverage of the project and I'd like to thank the Table Talk, the Tygerburger and the Cape Argus. Your willingness to publish the articles and appeal for help is greatly appreciated!

As for me - I've started thinking about my next big walk. This one will be for myself, I won't be raising funds as I did with the Kilimanjaro climb.

I have decided to walk the Camino Santiago in July 2012. The fact that I turn 50 that month is not a coincidence, no! I've merely timed it for then because it is a special time in my life but the true reason for walking the 780km through Spain lies much deeper.

As with the Kili climb, I certainly won't be the first, nor the last to undertake the journey. For me however, it will be the very first time and I have started the mental preparation for this incredible pilgrimage.

To join me on that adventure, almost two years before the actual walk, you are very welcome to follow the new blog that I have created as I journal about my daily 'camino'...

Already I am aware that the pilgrimage is going to change my life, a month ago I had no idea it existed and now it seems that no matter what, I have to walk all 780km!

The new blog is http://www.caminosantiago2012.blogspot.com. Join the journey - who knows, you might decide to put your boots on as well!