Amabeadibeadi charity campaign to raise R2 million in 2009

Posted on Apr 30, 2009 under Comrades Marathon | No Comment

Brief History
In 1999 the CMA decided to increase its “reach out” and giving back to local communities that were impoverished and in dire need of assistance. The CMA joined forces with the woman of a local KZN community and launched a Charity initiative in the form of “Beads for Charity.” The woman would manufacture beaded necklaces and these were then purchased by the CMA and sold to sponsors and runners. It was decided to do it in this way as this would alleviate the woman from distribution costs of their products, thus maximizing their profits, and allowing the CMA to sell the beaded necklaces with a slight mark up, and this percentage mark up is the finances that are raised and distributed to the 4 Charities.

It was decided in 2000 to give the Charity drive a more South African feel and name, hence Amabeadibeadi was created and continues to grow from strength to strength each year. A couple of years ago it was decided to try out alternative products and there was a major outcry form the Comrades runners and Comrades supporters that there were no beads. Thus the CMA brought back the Beads. This is the 10th anniversary of the Amabeadibeadi charity campaign, which has seen in excess of R10 Million rand raised for the various charities that have been supported during the years.

One must acknowledge that since the introduction of a top quality vehicle as a prize for the charity drive competition has seen a massive increase in revenue distributed to the Charities. The first year saw an increase of over R700 000 raised from previous years. To this we have to thank General Motors for their generous sponsorship of the Captiva, and their continued unwavering support of the Comrades Marathon.

Peter Proctor, CMA Vice Chairman “The 2008, Amabeadibeadi Charity drive raised over R1 million, through the sale of the Amabeadibeadi products and the Chevrolet win-a-car SMS competition. This year we hope to surpass the R2 million mark, and this will only be possible with the support from our generous sponsors, the public, and our Comrades Runners.”

“The best way to try and reach this mark is by having a top of the range prize on offer and link the Amabeadibeadi campaign to a sms competition. Chevrolet has come to the party once again and sponsored a Chevrolet Captiva, which will be awarded to the winner of the SMS competition at the end of Race Day on the 24 May.”

SMS the words “CAPTIVA” to 38275 and stand a chance of winning a Chevrolet Captiva.

The Charities that benefit from the Amabeadibeadi campaign are: