Teddy Bear Foundation still needs donations in aid of child abuse survivors
PARKTOWN – While the goal of the event was to raise R70 000 for the foundation, only R8 200 has been collected so far.
Four community members took on the virtual Midmar Mile in aid of the Teddy Bear Foundation (TBF) over the weekend of 13 and 14 March.
While the goal of the event was to raise R70 000 for the foundation, only R8 200 has been collected so far.
Swimmer Deon van Niekerk said swimming conditions were pleasant on the day with a light breeze, warm water and barely a ripple on the dam.
Van Niekerk said that it was a pleasant surprise that despite the normal event being cancelled, all participants still received a medal.
“After the formalities of ticking off our names at the end and donning our issued face masks and receiving the cooldrink, we departed feeling happy that despite the restrictions of Covid-19 we could still do the swim in the Midmar Dam itself,” said van Niekerk.
He added that he would certainly complete the event again knowing that he had made a difference in abused children’s lives whose circumstances had not changed due to the pandemic.
Donor liaison officer at the foundation Dalene Bishop encouraged the public to continue to donate to the cause.
“Teddy Bear Foundation shares a common mission with the community, which is to protect children from abuse and stop the scourge of violence against children,” said Bishop.
“This swim is not about these swimmers individually but rather they swam for others who could not do it for whatever reason.”
She concluded, “There is an African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child, so although there were only four swimmers if the community supports them, then the whole village is involved.”
To donate to the cause, visit https://bit.ly/Midmar21
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