COMRADES MARATHON 2011 – AmaBeadiBeadi Charity Launch

Motor-vehicle giant Toyota will once again sponsor a brand new car to the Comrades Marathon Association’s (CMA) AmaBeadiBeadi Charity Campaign. In a glamorous function, which was held on Thursday, 14 April 2011, at the Toyota Plant in Prospecton, the CMA officially launched the 2011 Win-A-Car SMS competition.

CMA Chairman Peter Proctor said he was impressed to see that a major motoring brand had a great affinity to a major sporting code which is the Comrades Marathon. “We both adopt the same attitudes for the future. The sponsorship of the vehicle provides our charities with tremendous exposure and gives them a chance to reach their goals. On behalf of the Comrades Marathon, I would like to thank Toyota for their generous contribution to The Ultimate Human Race,” he added.

Leroy Khoza, the Senior Co-Coordinator Promotions and Sponsorship for Toyota said he looked forward to the 2011 race and knows that the charities can expect even more exposure than previous years. “We at Toyota continue to lead the way and we are very proud to lead the way with the Comrades Marathon’s AmaBeadiBeadi Charity Campaign. I strongly believe that everyone should do their part in helping charity organisations and in doing so; we are instilling positive morals within future generations. On behalf of Toyota I appeal to everyone to support this amazing cause,” he said.

To stand a chance of winning a brand new Toyota Corolla 1.3, SMS the word ‘TOYOTA’ to 38275. The competition will close at 15h00 on 29 May 2011, where the winner will be announced during the live broadcast of the race on SABC 2.

The five official charities aligned to the campaign have been specifically elected to provide for a vast range of concerns, with hopes that everyone associated with the race will find at least one cause which they can personally identify with. The charities supported by the Comrades Marathon are:

The Starfish Greathearts Foundation which aims to bring life, hope and opportunity to children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Starfish continues to make an impact in the communities along the Comrades route in KwaZulu-Natal.

Pink Drive whose plan is to be a tangible breast cancer Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) powering a mobile mammography and an educational unit through our country with the message that Early Detection Saves Lives.
The Sports Trust whose main aim is to build active communities through sport and recreation, and developing sport where it matters most, across all sporting codes.

Wildlands Conservation Trust who have developed a Sustainable Communities Programme aimed at supporting the transformation of the Trust’s partner communities into healthy, green and sustainable communities. Wildlands now works in a mix of 24 township, squatter, peri-urban and rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.

Community Chest has been investing in the Welfare Community of Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas for the past 51 years. In this period the Chest has raised and distributed over R38million to the welfare community of Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas.

At the launch, current Comrades Marathon champion Stephen Muzhingi was in attendance. He was accompanied by his teammate Oleksandr Holovnytskyy. Other star runners who were also present included Kerry Koen, Petros Sosibo and Collen Makaza.

Another exciting part to the AmaBeadiBeadi campaign is the Race 4 Charity initiative where runners have the opportunity to “secure” their spot closer to the front of the Comrades start line, and improve their seeding batch, while raising funds for a good cause. The CMA has allocated 1,000 entries for runners who need to raise R5000; for example: by getting 100 friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them R50 to run the Comrades Marathon. This will ensure that they get to start in their own special seeding batch (‘’CC’’-Comrades Charity batch), near the front of the field on race day. So if you are a ‘back of the pack’ runner, this is your chance to get into that special seeding batch.

Runners are able to sign up whilst family and supporters can donate and leave messages of motivation and well wishes. Runners get to choose which of the five AmaBeadiBeadi charities they would like to support. The campaign takes on an added air of excitement as prizes are up for grabs for those who raise the most funds.

If you have entered the 2011 Comrades Marathon, we urge you to visit www.comrades.com and follow the Race 4 Charity link to be a part of this amazing initiative.

***ENDS***

Statement Released on Thursday, 14 April 2011