At an awards ceremony held at the Serengeti Gold and Wildlife Estate on 12 November, following six rounds of golf, winners of the 2021 John Deere Financial/Wirtgen Group (JDF/WG) Corporate Charity League were announced with the three winning teams donating their prize money which amounted to R245 000 in total to charities of their choice.
What started out as an annual social round of golf arranged by Wirtgen Group South Africa, has over the past three years evolved into a multi-team golf competition aimed at raising funds for charity.
“In 2019, we decided to combine our passion for golf with helping the less fortunate and came up with the idea to have our customers join us in a league format competition played over six rounds, with all proceeds raised donated to charity,” explains Waylon Kukard, sales manager at Wirtgen Group SA.
Sponsored by John Deere Financial, in conjunction with Wirtgen Group SA, the idea behind the JDF/WG Corporate Charity League is to assist selected charities with their financial needs. Funds raised during the annual league are distributed to the top three teams’ nominated charities.
Team Wirtgen Group SA won the 2021 league with 500 points. The company allocated their winnings of R120 000 to the Amadea Safe House, a home for mentally and physically challenged children and youth aged between nine and 21.
“We are grateful for the donation from the Wirtgen Group, which makes it possible for our children to receive the best total care possible. The donation will go towards medication, therapy and nappies, while a small portion will be used to upgrade bathing facilities for children in wheelchairs,” says Amadea’s Rina Malan.
AFGRI was placed second with 485 points and their prize money amounted to R75 000, which was donated to Kinders van die Lig, founded in 1997 by a group of theological students of the Afrikaanse Protestant Kerk Pretoria Oos.
Kinders van die Lig reaches out to children in need, especially those who are from low socio-economical groups. The organisation’s primary goal is to ‘evangelise’ to as many children as possible, primarily in the west of Pretoria. Its secondary goal is to provide for the physical needs of the children.
“The donation gives us hope for the future of our organisation. We will be able to organise camps for the children and provide the food they need at our monthly Sunday events. We are eternally grateful for the donation,” says Maryke van der Merwe, communication officer at the organisation.
With a total of 482 points, SP Surfacing finished third and donated their R50 000 winnings to Walking on Water (WOW) Outreach Ministries, a volunteer-based outreach organisation that focuses on the homeless and the destitute.
“It is truly an honour and privilege for us to be the recipient of this donation,” says Robert Pollard, founder of WOW. “One of our pressing needs at WOW – as we seek to expand our work – is to purchase a minibus to transport people from the streets to shelters, rehabilitation centres, clinics and the church. This donation will go a long way towards meeting this need.”