The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Gees Competition recently announced The Anna Foundation as the winner of a R100 000 prize which will directly benefit children living on rural farms in the Cape Winelands.
The Anna Foundation managed to convince the judges through their colourful water table dressed in outfits that represented the organisation’s mission of Reading, Running and Right-ing, additionally, over 100 children participated in the 5km Peace Run prior to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, Africa’s only IAAF Gold label status marathon.
“Children from the Anna Foundation, supported by learners from Somerset College manned our water tables with ‘gees’ and enthusiasm and we’re delighted to have walked away with first prize in this category,” said Anna Brom, Founder of the Anna Foundation.
“Our all-encompassing holistic approach to building a solid community of support around the child has proven a success over the past 14 years. Our goal of building the child’s self-esteem and self-worth are evident in the success of children who are integrated into the Anna Foundation programmes,” said Brom,
Mariska Oosthuizen, Head of Brand at Sanlam says, “Any long distance runner will tell you that the supporters on the side of the road is what carries them through the long hard kilometers onto the finish line. We are pleased that the Anna Foundation participated in our ‘gees’ competition and were one of the biggest supporters at the race. The charities, clubs and general public came out in big numbers, brought their best moves, dressed to impress and supported the athletes on race day. A big congratulations for walking away with the R100 000 grand prize for charities, it is well deserved.”
Oosthuizen added, “Our partnership with the Cape Town Marathon allows us to create value for the people of this continent and its communities for generations to come. Thank you to the Anna Foundation for being a part of Africa’s gold and helping in supporting our runners.”
The Anna Foundation is a beneficiary of the RUN4CHANGE LEGACY PROGRAMME, an integral part of the iconic Cape Town race, which aims to use the marathon and event to leverage change. The five pillars of this legacy programme represent the UN’s sustainable goals of charity, health, sustainability, peace and development.
These UN sustainable goals, reflect the mandate of the Anna Foundation, an organisation committed to the sports, education and life skills development of rural children in the Western Cape. The 667 learners in the Anna Foundation 3R’s programme (Reading, Running and Right-ing), are involved in the after-school programmes. Each child benefits annually from 200 hours of educational support, 100 hours of computer access, 100 hours of reading, sport and life skills training, plus 200 cooked meals.
