Stellies gears up to give and to Move4Food
STELLENBOSCH University (SU) is gearing up for its first-ever 24 hour Campus Giving Day which runs from 1pm today until 1pm on Friday.
Giving Day forms part of the recently launched student-led #Move4Food campaign that aims to create food banks on the Stellenbosch and Tygerberg campuses, with an ambitious target of raising R10 million in 100 days in donations, cash and goods to ensure that no student goes hungry.
Members of the student society Engineers Without Borders Maties have built a giant lunchbox in the Neelsie Student Centre, and students, staff and the public have been invited to donate non-perishable food items that will stock the food banks.
SU donor relations manager Cheryl Benadie said student hunger was a serious issue and the university wanted to demonstrate its commitment to supporting vulnerable individuals by providing real interventions.
“We therefore challenged staff members to participate in the 24-hour spin-a-thon in the Neelsie. Staff participation has been earmarked for 3pm to 5pm (today),” she said.
Matie residences will also be involved in a telethon this week to request alumni to support the cause.
Activities include a “Koshuis Rugby Derby” on Friday. Huis Marais, Huis Visser, Dagbreek, Wilgenhof, Eendrag, Helshoogte, Simonsberg and Helderberg will take to the field. There will be music and braai facilities.
SU has also partnered with the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon taking place this weekend to galvanise staff, students, alumni and friends to #Move4Food.
“This feisty and youthful campaign punches way below the weight of an enormous, overbearing problem of the social injustice that is food insecurity and hunger among our students, but it is a response to the president’s Thuma Mina call,” said development and alumni relations senior director Karen Bruns.
“It represents the possibility of an immediate solution of food banks and vouchers to a very complex issue.”
The rector, Professor Wim de Villiers, will be taking part after accepting SU alumna and Olympic Games silver medallist Elana Meyer’s challenge to #Move4Food by running the full 42.2kms marathon.
For more information email givingday@sun.ac.za.