Absa Gives Back at Epic

Absa is excited to once again announce its title sponsorship of the 2013 edition of the Absa Cape Epic.

“We are delighted at the success and growth of this proudly South African, world-class mountain bike stage race and we are honoured to be part of the 10th anniversary of this event,” says Lynn Naude, General Manager Absa Sponsorships and Events.

Team Absa During the 2012 Absa Cape Epic

Through Absa’s partnership with the Absa Cape Epic, the bank aims to promote the sport of mountain biking in South Africa and strives to reinforce the organisation’s commitment to the development of sport in South Africa as a key sponsorship objective.

In addition to this, Absa is proud to be associated with a sporting event that serves as such a wide platform for raising funds for charitable causes.

Absa’s own contribution to the 2012 fund raising efforts came firstly in the in the form of Team Absa, a group of 10 riders including sports personalities, celebrities and Absa employees. Each rider in the team rode in the Absa colours on behalf of a charity of their choice and Absa donated a daily sum for each stage of the race completed by the rider.

Jack Stroucken, Absa Employee and five time Absa Cape Epic finisher, rode on behalf of Rotary Morningside and donated his funds to the Kwena Molapo High School in Lanseria, who will use the contribution towards the much needed development of their school sports field.

 
Joel Stransky and Max Gebhardt

Joel Stransky, rugby legend turned businessman and SuperSport commentator, has used the money to further fund the LumoHawk projects, a charity organisation borne from Joel’s ongoing participation in the Absa Cape Epic and named after his red Mohawk cycling helmet. The funds have purchased winter school kit and shoes for 8 HIV orphans and will also contribute to the costs of their education. Another allocation of the funds raised will go to the training of 3 child minders at an orphanage where these ladies are responsible for looking after and teaching the children in a home-school structure.  The last recipient of the funding is David Mtshali, a 23 year old cancer survivor who LumoHawk is sponsoring to attend advertising school.

Max Gebhardt, Deputy Editor of the Financial Mail, supported Rally to READ with his first time participation in the race. Rally to READ is a CSI project which is managed by The READ Educational Trust in conjunction with Financial Mail. The project raises money to fund school aids, feeding schemes, scholarships and sports equipment for underprivileged schools.

Personally, Max used the money raised from completing 2012 Absa Cape Epic to contribute to the purchase of a READ educational box filled with books, which was delivered along with a host of other equipment to the Schoemansdale primary school near Malelane, Mpumalanga last month.

The other charities that will benefit from Team Absa’s participation include Cotlands (Clayton Duckworth), DARG (Vanessa Haywood), Missing Children South Africa (Nico Panagio and Sean Kristafor), CANSA (Ernst Viljoen), The Star’s Seaside Fund (Kevin McCallum), and the JAG Foundation (Elana Meyer). The handovers to these organisations will be taking place over the next two months.

Elana Meyer and Ernst Viljoen 

Furthermore, Team Absa, together with 10 other riders including TV Presenter Michael Mol, Kfm Radio’s Deon Bing, and former Springbok rugby player Tiaan Strauss, competed against each other and the clock for charity in the Absa Relay Spinathon which took place at the V&A Waterfront on 24th March ahead of the start of the 2012 Absa Cape Epic. Missing Children South Africa and the JAG Foundation both benefited from the riders’ efforts on the day.

Absa Relay Spinathon 

Absa also gave an additional R 30,000.00 to the JAG Foundation, a key beneficiary of the Absa Cape Epic race.

Lastly, Absa donated R 20,000.00 to the Green Mountain Eco Route Trust in the Western Cape earlier this year while Team Absa were on their training camp.

The Green Mountain Eco Route is the world’s first biodiversity wine route, and formed a critical part of the 2012 Absa Cape Epic race route. This marks the third consecutive year that Absa has made a financial contribution to the project, which emphasises the bank’s commitment to environmental sustainability and the preservation of South Africa’s natural heritage.

“Absa always strives to give back to the communities within which we operate. It gives us great pleasure to get involved in the Absa Cape Epic initiative, not only to support the communities in the area, but also to reach a number of worthy causes across South Africa through the participation and dedication of Team Absa,” Naude continues. 

“Absa looks forward to a hugely successful 2013 Absa Cape Epic together with Kevin Vermaak- founder of the Absa Cape Epic- and the organisers, and we endeavour to continue making meaningful contributions to charity organisations through the platform of the race,” she concludes.