Outstanding service recognised

The recognition was bestowed upon those who put service above self within the community and dedicated their time and efforts to ensuring people in the community were assisted based on their needs.

The Paul Harris Sapphire Award went to:

• Sylvia Knoop

Knoop’s achievements include her service on the committee of the South African Paraplegic Association, assisting disadvantaged people who are not mobile.

She has sourced wheelchairs, clothing and other items that the the community is in need of.

Knoop has worked with the Blind Association for close to two decades, and obtained an eye-testing machine at her own cost and donated it to the association over 15 years ago.

She was also involved in the HIV/Aids Hope Project with Dr Ivan Jardine.

• Angela Norris

She has served as a member of the Rotary Club of Benoni Aurora since 1993.

She has been Ann president of the club three times and shared Ann president twice.

Norris was involved in a project to plant trees in schools, creches, parks and retirement homes.

The Trees for Africa project received the award for the DG Ann’s Best Project of the Year.

These are but some of her contributions.

Paul Harris Fellow Award recipients are:

• Val Bartram

She has for the past seven years volunteered and assisted at Thembalami Care Center, where she has arranged functions, including the monthly birthday bash, Easter Bonnet Parade, Mother’s and Father’s Day functions, family days and Christmas lunches.

Bartram has been actively involved in establishing projects at Thembalami Care Centre that include the Occupational Therapy Department, Forget-me-not Wing, the tiling of the passages of the ground and first floor and a frail care facility for men.

• Cindy McCall-Peat

McCall-Peat, together with the late David Tucker, started the Eagle Tumbling Club at John Barrable Hall.

McCall-Peat is well known for her fine achievements of being a Springbok gymnast tumbler and a provincial tumbling and gymnastics coach.

She has given back to the community by providing free tumbling lessons to various disadvantaged schools.

Exceptional and ongoing dedication to the community is demonstrated by both McCall-Peat and her team of coaches.

• Romy Titus

Titus is the founder of the organisation Babies Behind Bars, which she started in 2007.

Their primary objective is to look after children born and raised in prisons throughout South Africa and Africa, to ensure their basic needs are taken care of.

Babies Behind Bars operates in all correctional centres which house mothers and children throughout the country, as well as in four neighbouring countries, including Namibia and Swaziland.

• Grace van Zyl

Van Zyl took co-ownership (together with Denis Brandjes) of the club’s annual Wine-X fund-raising project three years ago.

Together they improved the receiving, wine sales and allocation systems and ever since, the project has continued to prosper and deliver ever increasing income for the club’s use in community-based club projects.

Some years ago the club started various support activities for the Zama Pre-school and Aftercare Centre situated in Daveyton.

Their finances were in a fairly chaotic state and Van Zyl worked long hours to assist and train their staff to manage the accounts in an orderly and efficient manner.

During the past two years Grace has provided various inputs to help build capacity among the members of the Kopanang Community Trust, an organisation which aims to help women desperately in need of community support from the ongoing impact of HIV/Aids.

During the past two years Grace has provided various inputs to help build capacity among the members.

Van Zyl has run the Financially Savvy workshops with these women for them to take a very critical look at how they manage their finances, as well as initiating the Kopanang Savings Club.

These are but a few of the projects that she is involved in.

Follow us on these platforms:

Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp: 079 431 1217
Instagram: benonicitytimes.co.za