Media Release. 18 February 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism

Image: Bob Skinstad – here in ‘jail’ to raise funds for his bobsforgood foundation – will be in Mossel Bay on the 24th of February to donate more than 500 pairs of shoes to scholars at two local schools, and to address the Sakemanne Gholf Dag at the Mossel Bay Golf Course. Photograph: Shari Lee Thompson

Mossel Bay Schools to Benefit from Bob Skinstad’s Walk This Way Tour of the Western Cape

Former Springbok captain, flanker and eighth man, Bob Skinstad (who wore his country’s jersey 42 times), will visit Mossel Bay next week to deliver more than 500 pairs of shoes to children at two of the town’s neediest primary schools – KwaNonqaba’s Isalathisu and Imekhayha.

Mr. Skinstad’s visit will be facilitated by the Meet The People Cares trust – an organisation set up by a local tour operator to manage donations received from domestic and international travellers – and has been organised as part of his ‘bobsforgood’ Walk This Way campaign, which was launched at the V&A Waterfront on February the 15th (for the launch, Mr. Skinstad spent five nights in a mock jail cell to raise funds for the bobsforgood foundation).

Mr. Skinstad created bobsforgood in order to help tackle the detrimental social consequences arising from the fact that some seven million children in South Africa have no shoes.

bobsforgood is a business that sells shoes – but it’s a business with a difference, because all its profits are directed into the purchase of shoes for the underprivileged. So, for every pair of shoes sold on the open market, bobsforgood donates a brand new pair to one of South Africa’s neediest children.

The bobsforgood business runs in conjunction with the bobsforgood foundation, which receives funds from the public and other sources for the donation of school shoes.

The ‘Walk This Way’ campaign was created in conjunction with a forward-thinking, business orientated, Cape Town-based NGO called ‘Heart’ (www.heartglobal.org), which aims to transform the quality of peoples’ lives by establishing and incubating social enterprises which address a wide range of social and environmental challenges.

As part of the campaign, and after his ‘release from jail’ on the 20th of February, Mr. Skinstad will undertake a week-long tour of the Western Cape – visiting Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Worcester, Paarl and Bellville. He plans to meet community groups, business leaders, politicians, other NGOs, and the general public at each of his stops.

In Mossel Bay he will meet the Mayor, Alderlady Marie Ferreira, visit various small businesses on a Meet The People Tour, and address local business people at the annual Sakemanne Gholf Dag (Business People’s Golf Day) at the Mossel Bay Golf Club.

bobsforgood will use the funds raised during Mr. Skinstad’s tour to donate shoes to the neediest children in the Western Cape.

“Meet The People Cares – which was created by Jauckie Viljoen of Back Road Safaris – is a not-for-profit trust that demonstrates the good that tourism can bring to a community, and we’re very proud that Bob Skinstad has chosen it as the vehicle through which he will make this generous donation to these two local schools,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.

A spokesperson for Mr. Skinstad, Claire Alexander, said, “Bob is extremely grateful to Meet The People Cares, and to Jauckie, who has been liaising with the campaign in assisting and helping with the arrangements for this visit to Mossel Bay.

“Bob aims to raise as much money as possible on this tour as then he can help more children. With the help of the MEC for Education, we have identified 4,000 of the neediest children, and we can only reach them all with the public’s help.

“The most important part of the entire campaign is public participation, which will enable bobsforgood to donate to as many schools in the Western Cape as possible.”

Businesspeople wishing to attend Mr. Skinstad’s presentation at the Sakemanne Gholf Dag should contact Pierre Venter on 082 492 2623, or Jauckie Viljoen on 083 262 2307.

To make a contribution and for more about the bobsforgood foundation, visit www.bobsforgoodfoundation.org; for more about Meet The People Cares, visit www.meet-the-people.co.za; and for more about Mossel Bay, go to www.visitmosselbay.co.za.

ENDS 702 WORDS

Tags: bob skinstad, bobsforgood, meet the people, meet the people cares, mossel bay tourism