Boys raise R25 000 for Teddy Bear Foundation
WESTCLIFF – Two Grade 7 learners of The Ridge School arranged a movie day to raise funds to assist abused children at the Teddy Bear Clinic.
Grade 7 learners Isa Ebrahim and Yusuf Surtee of The Ridge School donated R25 000 to the Teddy Bear Foundation thanks to their lucrative movie day fundraiser.
The school’s Grade 7s are tasked with getting involved with a charity as part of the leadership programme at the school. Being true entrepreneurs and philanthropists, the pair decided that a movie day would be ideal to raise funds.
Isa said that his friend’s grandmother ran the Teddy Bear Clinic and he had often heard that it needed donations, spurring him on to support the good cause.
The Teddy Bear Foundation, based in Parktown, provides free, holistic child protection services to abused children.
Isa said, “I came up with the idea [to host a movie day] because a friend of mine had done it last year and made a good amount of money. I knew that if I partnered with Yusuf, together we could make much more. Luckily, there was an awesome movie out at the time and I knew my friends would want to watch it.”
Within two weeks, they managed to secure a location at the Killarney CineCentre who accommodated them. They decided on Captain Marvel, which appealed to their age group. The boys created pamphlets and publicised the event on social media to attract support. They sold 185 tickets and received 98 donations from various people, totalling R25 000.
“We are very privileged and go to an amazing school. We can get whatever we want. This was a way to help abused kids who don’t have what we have,” said Isa.
The director at the Teddy Bear Clinic Dr Shaheda Omar said, “Children are our future and these children are a shining example to us all. They took the time and effort to reach out to needy children… We need to learn from this that together we should hold hands to make a difference.”
The funds raised will be life-changing for two children at the clinic as it will cover the cost of forensic assessment, medical exams, therapy and psychological sessions, and court preparation.
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