The Association for Persons with Disabilities KZN (APD KZN) raised the most in sticker donations in KZN during last year’s Casual Day camping. A whopping R23,5 million rand was raised nationally last year by Casual Day, the fundraising project that has seen the South African public open its hearts to persons with disabilities for almost two decades.
This year Casual Day celebrates its 20th anniversary and will be pulling out all the stops with its Bring on the Bling theme, which was recently announced at the project’s annual awards ceremony in Durban. The award for raising R313 130 was collected by Provincial Director of APD KZN, Cheryl Naidoo.
Casual Day is the flagship project of the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa (NCPPDSA), which this year celebrates 75 years of service to the community of persons with disabilities. Over past two decades Casual Day has helped the NCPPDSA fulfill its mandate of creating a barrier-free, fully accessible and inclusive society for all, raising almost R195 million.
The highlight of the morning was a rousing talk by wheelchair tennis superstar Lucas Sithole, who lost both his legs and most of his right arm when he fell under a train aged 12, only to become the first South African to win a title at the US Open. Sithole was there to cheer on the organisations and individuals that raised the most donations for Casual Day in KZN – and to provide inspiration at the event, billed as “Breakfast with the Stars”. He spoke from the heart on his triumph over adversity saying, “If you can wake up in the morning with dreams you can either get up and go for your dreams or carry on sleeping.”
Long-time Casual Day ambassador and award-winning star of stage and screen, Terence Bridgett, welcomed guests and introduced the programme of events. He said had been involved with Casual Day for 14 years and confirmed his commitment “for a lifetime” Attendees were delighted by his performance of a song to the soundtrack of ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ which rounded off the events. He wrote his own lyrics and called the song ‘Casual Day Is Forever’.
PB Singh, KZN Provincial Chairperson of the NCPPDSA, thanked participants for their hard work and dedication to Casual Day.
The enthusiastic gathering consisted of members from the project beneficiaries and participants, including representatives of the NCPPDSA, SA National Council for the Blind, SA Federation for Mental Health and Deaf Federation of SA. The new crop of beneficiaries were also present, including representatives from Autism South Africa, Down Syndrome South Africa, The National Association for Persons with Cerebral Palsy, the South African National Deaf Association, the National Institute for the Deaf, Alzheimer’s South Africa, the South African Disability Alliance and QuadPara Association of South Africa, which received the accolade as the top performing national beneficiary newcomer for raising R96 040.
Project leader Celeste Vinassa announced the theme for 2014, saying, “To celebrate Casual Day’s 20th birthday we are inspiring South Africans to dress UP, not down. The theme is Bring on the Bling and the colour for the year is Dazzle Blue, a dramatic colour relating to the world of the theatre. So our message to you is to put on the ritz and rustle up a little razzle dazzle. Casual Day is all about fantasy and dressing up in things you can find around the house. Be creative with glitter, fabric, shiny paper, sequins or just wear your sticker and a posh casual attitude!”
Principal financial sponsor Edcon, was represented by Mercia Maserumule, the Edcon Group CSI Manager, Transformation and Corporate Affairs. She said that “Edcon understands that full inclusion and integration is important and that able-bodied people need education on issues of disability – so that they have information and are sensitised. The Casual Day project is one of the ways that Edcon can support the mandate of the NCPPDSA, which is to serve the needs of persons with disabilities. We want our staff and customers to be included in this education.”
Issuing a challenge to Edcon employees and customers she said, “If each staff member carries forward the message and each customer carries the message forward, it will be like Facebook!”
South Africans who bought their stickers at Game will be happy to know that the store raised several million in donations at their tills. Game was represented by CSI and PR Manager for Massmart Kathryn Taljaard.
Winners:
- Highest sticker sales for an NGO in KZN: Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities – KZN
- Winner: Best national beneficiary newcomer: QuadPara Association of South Africa
- Runner up: Highest sticker sales for an NGO in KZN: Schola Amoris
These organisations were nominated as super stars by APD – KZN for their support on behalf of APD:
- Assegai Primary
- Marianhill Primary
- Alfalah College
- SAB
- Department of Public Works
- SAPS Provincial Office
- Santove Logistics
- Club 91
- Art of Living
- Star College
- Parkview Primary School
- Escombe Primary School
- Sunbeam Primary School
The following organisations raised over R50 000 in sticker donations:
- Tape Aids for the Blind
- Durban & Coastal Mental Health
- The top Edcon branches in KZN are: Edgars Chatsworth, Boardmans Midlands Mall, Jet Isipingo, CNA Gateway Mall, Edgars Active The Workshop, Legit The Wheel, Jet-Mart West Street, Red Square Westville Pavilion.
Cell C Sharks 35 – Reds 20