Benoni Bowling Club’s soup drive a success
“We are a community-driven club. We always host fundraisers for charity organisations and focus on assisting those in need.”
Inspired by residents who have organised themselves to help with the upkeep of Benoni, the Benoni Bowling Club (BBC) distributed 300 meals to people in need and those living on the streets, on June 8.
“We are a very generous-thinking crowd of people here. We are empathetic to the needs of people who can’t afford daily goods,” said chairperson Kevin Uren.
The drive started on the corner of Main Street and Atlas Road via Western Extension and its surrounds, and on the streets of Northmead, Farrarmere and Rynfield.
“We are a community-driven club. We always host fundraisers for charity organisations and focus on assisting those in need,” Uren said.
Uren said this idea came about after witnessing the plight of the poor in the vicinity of the club and Benoni CBD.
With the buy-in of the club’s members, they started on a small scale last year.
“When you come to a place like this and see the standard people put up with daily, that contributed a lot to our thinking process and we then decided to give something back.
“We are hoping it’s going to gain momentum and that companies see what we are doing and then get on board. Maybe next year, we’ll get to 600 meals. It could be an annual event or we can host it two or three times during winter.”
The chairperson said their long-term goal is to get other sporting clubs in the community involved, adding that they want those in need to remember some people care for them.
“As long as I’m still chairperson of the club, I will ensure the drive continues. It can be an ongoing thing. We can even name it the greater Benoni sport soup drive and we get the likes of Benoni Northerns Sports Club and other bowling clubs involved,” he said.
Uren stated he was saddened by the neglect of the green spaces in Benoni but is encouraged by the residents taking a stand to keep the community in a good state.
“It saddens me immensely to look at the state of Benoni and its green spaces. The private companies are doing clean-up projects and that inspired us to say if the upkeep can’t be done properly, how is council going to look after citizens?
“We decided to go out and help so the poor and needy know there are still people who care for them.”
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