Beach Bums reunion raises R7000 for hospice

A group of friends, all former beach bums and surfers got together for a reunion recently to reconnect with old friends while raising a whopping R7000 for the Highway Hospice and 30kgs of pet food for Project Dog Animal Rescue.

According to Derek Botha, one of the organisers of event, the idea came about in December when he and fellow surfer friends decided to reconnect with others. “We all hung around the beach as kids and into their adult life but had lost contact with many so decided to have a “Beach Bums Reunion.”

“Durban Collegians kindly offered us their venue and somewhere along the way in the Nek nomination craze I was nominated. Instead of drinking, I challenged others to donate food to a worthy cause and chose Project Animal Rescue for dogs,” said Botha.

The orgainsers later decided to charge people an entrance fee which would raise money for the Highway Hospice. Botha said they received a lot of support for the project. “Sandro Avellini of Hunter MMA apparel came on board and donated 100 specially made t-shirts to sell to raise funds for Hospice. Durban’s top surfing coach, Alan Wallace from Roxy Learn 2 Surf donated one-on-one surf lessons and Rudi Kerkhof of 369 donated a Gunslinger skateboard which was auctioned on the night.

With well over 100 beach bums and their families, the reunion was a success. On the day of the reunion each person was nek nominated to donate a minimum of one tin of pet food which was donated to Kim Sachs-Samuels of Project Dog Animal Rescue. Botha said the reunion and donations would not be possible without the sponsorship from Sandro “Hunter” Avellini of Hunter MMA, Alan Wallace of Roxy Learn 2 Surf, Rudi Kerkhofof 369, Arthur Limboris of Musgrave Agencies, Guy Stoneof Stokers Pub, Tracy Smit Bingham from Parker, Gavin Cowan of Lucky Break Surf Shop, Richard Sharp and Paula Lightning for posters, La Lucia Food Lovers Market and Durban Surf Lifesaving Club.