Good looks for a good cause
FOURWAYS - The Sunflower Fund pulled out all the stops to raise awareness and funds on World Cancer Day on 4 February by enlisting three of South Africa's hottest men.
The Sunflower Fund is a non-profit organisation which has a vision to give all South Africans diagnosed with leukemia and other life-threatening blood disorders the chance of life, irrespective of their race and financial circumstances.
The fund’s core purpose is to educate, recruit and raise funds to build and sustain an effective South African Bone Marrow Registry as a viable source of well informed, ethnically-diverse, potential bone marrow donors so as to meet the national and international requirements and to improve the chances of life-saving transplants for serious blood disorder sufferers.
Former Mr South Africa, John Owen, who was the official ambassador for the event, Mr South Africa second runner-up Morne Marais and Mr South Africa finalist and Midrand resident, Jaco Gerrits, donned their best suits and flashed killer smiles in aid of the Sunflower Fund.
Restaurateur Nazreen Ramlal welcomed the Sunflower Fund into her eatery, Primi Piatti in the Design Quarter, for an entire day, from opening till closing on 4 Janaury in order for them to sell bandanas and raise awareness of the organisation.
“So few people know what the Sunflower Fund is,” Gerrits said. “And even less understand what the donor process entails.”
The fund encouraged people to visit the restaurant on World Cancer Day to take a photo with Owens, Marais and Gerrits, buy a bandana or two and have a meal, since ten percent of the day’s total turnover was donated to the organisation.
“Primi Piatti Design Quarter wanted to give something back,” Ramlal said. “The Sunflower Fund is doing wonders in terms of cancer and with them you can really see where your money is going.”
“When you hear what kids with leukemia are going through, it’s so close to your heart,” Marais said. “We can achieve so much more if we just stand together.”
