Hillcrest AIDs Centre Trust is an official Comrades Marathon charity
An organisation, which has worked in the Valley of 1000 Hills community for the past 32 years, stands to benefit from the ultra-marathon at the end of August.
THE Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust (HACT) is one of six official Comrades Marathon charities and the only one of those organisations which is located on the Comrades Marathon route.
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CEO of HACT Candice Davidson says that the funds raised through the ultra-marathon are of vital importance to HACT this year and will be used to keep beds open in their palliative-care unit.
“We are thrilled that Comrades is an in-person race this year, and the funding is incredibly important to us as it allows us to continue our services to the community. We are focused on our respite unit for now, which is a 24-bed unit for late-stage Aids and cancer patients. During Covid-19, hospices closed so there’s a lot of pressure on our unit. We offer inpatient and home-based care for late-stage Aids and cancer patients. The Comrades funds are essential to keep our beds open. We, therefore, appeal to the community to support the Comrades campaign and to support us, a local hospice in the Upper Highway area.”
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The public can get behind the Comrades campaign by purchasing official Comrades products from the Woza Moya Craft Shop or by sponsoring a Comrades athlete who is running for HACT.
Other ways to support HACT is through making use of the facilities which are open to the public.
Davidson says, “In terms of what we offer on-site, we have our coffee shop called Ubuntu Ground Café. More than being our beautiful coffee shop, it is also a training space where unemployed youth go through an internship programme focused on food preparation, hospitality, financial literacy and customer service. The coffee shop is open from Monday to Friday from 08:00 until 16:00 and Saturdays from 08:00 to 14:00.”
Also located on the HACT premises are the Woza Moya Craft Store, Haberdashery and Trim Shack and the plant nursery. The nursery focuses primarily on indigenous plants, water-wise plants and garden décor. Davidson says the organisation propagates their own plants and makes pots and compost, which are for sale to the public.
Additionally, there is an on-site training room available for hire, which has aircon, a projector and Wi-Fi. Ample secure parking is available at the centre.
Davidson concludes, “We do have a lot to offer the general public in terms of visiting the centre as a place of interest in Hillcrest.”
The revenue flowing from these various HACT social enterprises supports the projects and services the centre offers to the community.
Contact: info@hillaids.org.za
