Cape Town - First-year Business and Information Administration (BIA) students from the CPUT have donated R82 000 to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and Andrew Murray Children’s Home.
Raising funds for the two organisations formed part of the students’ second-semester project, with students from both the Wellington and District Six campuses using their entrepreneurial skills to help the initiatives.
“In total, R70 000 was raised from the District Six students for the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, with R12000 raised from the Wellington students for Andrew
Murray Children’s Home,” said Mandie Richards, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.
Richards said since 2005, CPUT BIA students had raised R500000 for the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, with first-year marketing
students last month handing over R25000 to the Children’s Hospital
Trust.
“The students at both campuses worked hard to raise funds, having bake sales, cold-calling possible donors and putting their all into raising as much as possible,” said Richards.
The cheque for the children’s hospital was accompanied by donations from Clicks, the Hadjidakis Group, Scent Pac, Shoprite and Lewis Stores.
“The Andrew Murray Children’s Home was chosen by the Wellington students because the organisation is located within their community and they wanted to give back,” said Richards.
“The students decided to raise funds for the Red Cross Trauma Unit because of the great work the hospital does, aiding kids from all over the country whose parents often come from under-resourced communities,” she said.
The fund-raising initiative is integrated into the entrepreneurship unit in the subject, and is a three-month long project where students are not only taught about the financial aspects of raising funds, but also teamwork, conflict management, communication and marketing.
Visvanathan Naicker, head of the BIA Department, emphasised the need for creating a caring society and praised the students for their spirit of giving back.
@TheCapeArgus