The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation (LSFGF) received a significant financial boost at its annual fundraiser this past weekend.
The LSFGF charity ball was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, supported by Carrol Boyes and in partnership with Cape Grace Hotel. Some 330 guests were in attendance, and collectively raised R1-million for the ongoing work done by the Foundation to support over 25 Sport for Social Development programmes across the country.
The charity ball also served as the backdrop to the announcement of two new Laureus SA Ambassadors, award-winning media presenters Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp and Motshidisi Mohono, who now join an expanding group of South African icons who assist the Foundation and the programmes it funds to uplift and empower the youth in underserved communities through sport.
“It is an absolute honour to have been brought in as a Laureus Ambassador, Mohono said about her appointment. “I hosted the 2015 and 2016 red carpet for the Laureus World Sports Awards and I got to see the work being done by the ambassadors within the Sport for Good space. It was so great to see how sport has changed and is changing so many young people’s lives – just as it has changed mine.
From showing the youth that there are opportunities through sport, to getting them off the streets and making them community minded and enjoy working as a team… I have seen the impact that the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation makes, and I am truly honoured to be a part of it.”
Added Afrika-Bredenkamp, “Being an ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation allows me to use my talent for good, while embracing my role as a broadcaster. As part of amplifying my duty as a Changemaker in South Africa, I look forward to supporting and working together to champion Sport for Good.”
Morné du Plessis, Chairperson of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa, welcomed the broadcasting powerhouses to the Laureus family: “While most of our ambassadors are iconic sportsmen and -women, every now and then we identify personalities who may not have won olympic medals or performed on the sporting stage, but are making a difference within their own professional and personal spheres. Elana and Motsi are two such people – powerful women who use their respective platforms as opinion leaders within the media for good.
It is therefore truly a privilege and honour to have them be a part of Laureus SA, where I know they will continue to use their skills and talents to amplify our work while bringing sustainable change to the youth through the power of sport.”
Laureus Sport for Good Foundation – Fostering Social Change Through Sport
Laureus Sport for Good South Africa funds, supports, and promotes the use of sport as a tool for social change.
The Foundation has a network of over 25 Sport for Social Change organisations in over 100 communities, using sport in innovative ways to tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges facing our youth, including poverty, homelessness, gangsterism, violence, drug abuse, discrimination and HIV/AIDS.
To support this mission, Laureus Ambassadors – a select group of current and retired sportsmen and women who have achieved sporting greatness, or made significant contributions to the sporting community over the course of their careers – volunteer their services and time to represent the Foundation at its various project activations and activities across the country.
Since its inception, Laureus SA has raised over R80 million for projects which have helped improve the lives of over 100,000 young people in South Africa. Through the strategic six-year country patronship between Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) and Laureus SA, the partnership has supported the Foundation’s goal of enhancing social impact in a bid to expand efforts and achieve the ambitious agenda of positive, sustainable change and influence, to enable the youth to become active economic participants in society.
For more information on Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa projects, please visit: http://www.laureus.co.za/
