Casual Day welcomes new ambassadors

Casual Day recently welcomed nine new ambassadors aboard to raise awareness around the project and its aims.

The launch, where each ambassador signed a pledge to represent Casual Day, took place at the project’s offices in Edenvale.

The new ambassadors plan to ‘Bring out the Bling’ for the project’s 20th birthday.

Casual Day is South Africa’s most successful fundraising project for persons with disabilities and the amount raised for last year has climbed to R24.8 million.

Sponsored by The Edcon Group, Casual Day is the flagship project of the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa (NCPPDSA), which this year celebrates 75 years of service to the community of persons with disabilities.

“Our ambassadors are persons with disabilities or people who have dedicated themselves to fighting for the rights of others with disabilities,” said project leader Ms Celeste Vinassa.

New Ambassadors:

•  Simphiwe Mkhize a former television actress and presenter on Zwahashu and Deaf TV. She is profoundly deaf and communicates through sign language and writing.
•  Rhulani Baloyi is the blind presenter of educational programme Shift on SABC 1, Trustee for SA Mobility for the Blind Trust, 2010 Tributes Award winner.
•  Kashveera Chanderjith is the first profoundly deaf chartered accountant in South Africa. She is audit manager at Anglo American and is one of Accountancy SA’s 15 women representing transformation.
•  Michael Stevens is a double amputee who is a volunteer for Jumping Kids, a registered not-profit organisation that facilitates access to advanced prosthetic solutions to those who need it most.
•  Irene Fischer was a young and popular traffic presenter on the Mambo Jumbo show on OFM when she suffered brain damage after a truck ploughed into her car. Against all odds, she survived but she is a hemiplegic, which means that movement on one side of her body, as well as her speech, is impaired.
•  Terry-Ann Adams lives with albinism and sight impairment. She is a presenter and newscaster at Campus Radio Tuks FM and editor of The Follow Through.
•  Bernadette Rigney, works for the City of Joburg metro as the Transformation and Disability Officer. She has a rare condition called Arthrogryposis, which affects the joints and limits the range of motion in her hands and legs.
•  Thulisile Matlala is a CSI manager and disability activist. She was left a paraplegic after a shooting accident at school and is a winner of the Barloworld CEO Award.
•  2J Harmonix or Jonathan Groenewald, was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy (MD) at the age of two. Despite being in a wheelchair, he has carved out a career for himself as a rap-artist.
•  Luvo Nelani is a human rights activist in the field of disability and completed her LLB at Wits in 2013.

For more information on Casual Day 2014 visit www.casualday.co.za