Tag Archives: charity

The 2009 UCT RAG float parade

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UCT RAG Float Parade

Remember and Give, RAG for short, is an 84-year-old tradition of raising money for charity. At the beginning of each year students from the University of Cape Town publish and sell a student magazine called SAX Appeal, and then towards the end of March they gather for a float parade in Cape Town's Adderley Street.

All profits from the sale of the magazines and all donations collected at the float parade are given to SHAWCO, a student-run organisation whose mission is to improve the lives of developing communities in the Cape Town area. Approximately 1,200 volunteers make up SHAWCO, and they run 15 health and education projects in the area.

We drove through to the city centre today to snap some shots of the parading students. It was a colourful and entertaining affair, as always, with hundreds of dressed-up and decorated students walking, dancing and singing through the streets. Take a browse through today's photo album, but I have to warn you, ladies, that in addition to the one above you will come across several more photos of topless young students. :D

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David Newton cleverly combines comedy and cancer

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On Broadway

David Newton is a brave guy. Fortunately, he's also very, very funny. You see, David is a Cape Town-based stand-up comedian who has taken on the tough job of raising awareness around the very unglamorous topic of... wait for it... ... Colorectal Cancer.

I was invited to attend the launch event for Colorectal Cancer Awareness, which took the form of dinner, drinks and a 2-hour comedy show at On Broadway in the city centre. Following this, I have three recommendations for you:

1. If you're in Cape Town, get yourself a ticket for David Newton's next show, which will be held on 4 May at On Broadway. Unless you have some sort of old sports injury that makes laughing very uncomfortable, or something like that, of course, because he WILL make you laugh. About everything. Everything.
2. If you can't make it to David's show, book for one of the other shows at On Broadway - it's a beautiful venue, with excellent service, and the portions of food are HUGE. Trust me on this. I couldn't even finish half of my meal - and I'd arrived hungry! Their prices are really reasonable too. Oh, and the restrooms... well, have a look at today's photo and judge for yourself. Pretty, innit?
3. Take five minutes to read through the information on the Colorectal Cancer Awareness site - this kind of cancer is treatable if caught early, but can become very aggressive if it's not. And for the sake of those who love you, if you think you might have any of the symptoms, don't ignore them. Make an appointment with your doctor, and get it checked out.

Twestival at Cape Town’s Doppio Zero

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Twestival in Cape Town

At short notice, several members of the Cape Town Twitter community pulled together and organised an event at Doppio Zero, allowing Cape Town to be part of the worldwide Twestival (it's a silly word, I know ;-) ). "Twestival" (yup, it's still a silly word) involved Twitter members gathering together in 186 cities across the world, on the same evening, to raise funds for charity: water, a non-profit initiative working to provide safe and clean drinking water in developing nations.

Guests at Cape Town's Doppio Zero were entertained by the beautiful and inspiring singer Verity, central African musician Sylvestre Kabassidi, Marcel (hands-down the best magician and close-up entertainer I've met), and the energetic entrepreneur Eran Eyal, who co-founded Springleap with Eric Edelstein.

I've been a bit of a link pimp in this post, but I think that the kind people who made this event possible deserve credit for a job well done on extremely short notice. Thanks to you all!