Mr South Africa candidate Armand du Plessis (25) raised more money than what the competition organisers expected at his fundraising event at Makiti recently.
The young man, who was born in Krugersdorp and raised in Ruimsig, organised an excellent event to reach his goal.
The 150 candidates who went through to this round of the competition were expected to host a fundraising event for the J9 Foundation, which was established by former rugby star Joost van der Westhuizen.
The Foundation aims to better the lives of those diagnosed with the fatal motor neuron disease. Candidates were expected to raise a target sum of R10 000 at their event.
Armand’s event was a dinner party held at the glamorous Makiti wedding and conference venue in Krugersdorp.
He said that around 250 people attended the dinner party and the tickets were sold out. Besides getting singer Candy Benson to entertain his guests, he organised renowned sexologist and speaker Dr Etienne Kok to speak to his audience about sexuality and relationships.
“Yes, most people would expect this to be an uncomfortable topic, but Dr Kok approached his discussion with such professionalism that everyone was able to take away an inspiring message,” said Armand.
“Even I could go home having learnt a valuable lesson of how relationships and marriages thrive.”
Armand chose this topic because besides his candidacy he is in the final year of his law degree studies and hopes to specialise in family and child law.
“The feedback on the topic was amazing – people were pleasantly surprised by what Dr Kok had to say.”
Armand hopes to donate the extra money he raised to the Teddy Bear Clinic in Krugersdorp as well as a few other organisations.
