GATELY Rotary Club recently donated R850000 to various charities around East London.
“The people of East London responded generously to support Gately’s annual fundraising efforts.
“The result – R850 000 over the last 12 months,” Gately Rotary spokesman Butch Coetzee said.
Each year, the raised funds are awarded to a carefully selected range of organisations and projects that meet some of the many needs in society.
This year, donations were made towards:
- Supporting vulnerable, abused women and children through Masimanyane Woman’s Centre, Sophumelela Support Centre and a Safety Net project being implemented by the Small Projects Foundation;
- Development of skills and experience in peer counselling through Masithethe (previously Lifeline);
- Ongoing funding requirements of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), Meals on Wheels and Salem Baby Care Centre;
- Care for people who deal with cancer through Cansa and palliative care through St Bernard’s Hospice and;
- Equipment and appliances that Carel du Toit Centre for Hearing Impaired Children uses to enhance its support services.
A contribution was also made to Rotary International’s global effort to eliminate polio from the earth – and there are only two countries to go.
“In addition, there are major projects which have been initiated by the Gately Club, and for which there is ongoing management and oversight by club members,” Coetzee said.
These entail:
- Enhancing skills for people who care for frail, aged people in the metro;
- Operating a warehouse for receiving and distribution of foods, medical equipment and sanitary goods to disadvantaged people;
- Various leadership development initiatives for young people in the region and;
- Training of another batch of 25 Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners from disadvantaged areas through ITEC – in collaboration with other East London and international Rotary Clubs.
This has been Gately’s flagship project over the last three years, with some R3-million spent on the training of 50 ECD practitioners.
More than half of the funding has been mobilised from Rotary International’s Global Grant facilities, as well as other international Rotary organisations.
A portion of the donations are made to charitable organisations in the winelands from which donations of wine for the annual auction are received.
“Disbursement decisions are made by a committee within the club that considers the needs of beneficiary organisations and the impact that the donation would make at grassroots and on the sustainability of the beneficiary organisation,” Coetzee said.
The funds for the donations come from the annual wine auction proceeds (+-R400000), special fundraising for polio-eradication (R30000), a special Leadership Development Fund (R75000), the Carmel Curlewis Trust for Abused Women and Children (R115000) and growth from the Gately Rotary Trust (R80000).