The team at 947 received a letter from friends of Sharné Geldenhuys, an A-student from Krugersdorp, who spends all her time studying and producing top marks to show her parents that she’s not wasting their money.
In the letter they explained that while they worry about what to wear to the next party or whether the boy on the bus likes them, Sharné is constantly worrying about her parents, who are struggling to put food on the table and pay for her school fees.
Sharné has made such an impact in their lives that they wrote in to do something good for her in return.
After hearing this touching story, 947’s Darren Simpson called Shane Collinson from Silverstar Casino for help.
Shane, on behalf of the casino, offered to pay R40 000 for Sharné’s matric school fees for 2016 and also pledged to help the family with R36 000 in food vouchers which totals to R3 000 for 12 months.
Shane, who is the Director of Operations and Complex General Manger at Silverstar then promised to open a bank account for the hard working pupil and to deposit R2 000 every month for her spending.
Shane also told Sharné that once she’s done with school, he would like to mentor her for a year.
She was accepted at the National School of Performing Arts for singing but her parents did not have money to support her dream.
Sharné now attends the High School for Girls Potchefstroom where her parents use every last cent to pay for her schooling fees.
With her parents’ car often broken, Sharnè is unable to be a day scholar at the school because of the far distance from Potch to home.
“All she does is study to get great marks so she can work to earn an income that will support her parents’ future. She fights for one mark or even half a mark when it comes to tests, exams, and assignments because she has to show her parents that she is not wasting their money,” Romaana Naidoo, PR Writer for Primedia Broadcasting, said.
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