Feet4Fees fundraising walk
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A group of 15 students is setting off from Wits on 1 December 2016 to walk about 1000km to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. They plan to arrive on 20 December.
The group, Feet4Fees, is raising funds for student bursaries. Many of the walkers are current bursary beneficiaries.
Along the route, the team will visit schools to create awareness of how school leavers can continue their education.
All proceeds generated by this project will be administered by the national bursary organisation StudyTrust. StudyTrust is a registered educational trust and an NSFAS NGO partner with over 40 years of experience and a BEE level 1 rating.
Wits BA student Reuben Oosthuysen says the project came about when he realised how students less fortunate than himself were struggling:
“Often students do not have living arrangements conducive to study and can’t afford decent meals. Many don’t have any local family support and have continuous stress about covering academic and personal expenses. Imagine the kind of perseverance required to complete your studies under such conditions. Often very competent students don’t return for their next academic year due to lack of funds.”
The Feet4Fees walkers range from first-year students to postgraduates and come from all over South Africa.
Here are some of the reasons they give for investing their time and energy into this initiative:
- “I understand and can relate to having no financial support to fund your dreams. I believe education can change anyone’s circumstances (speaking from experience). I used to walk to school every day and so I want other deserving students not to have their dreams shattered due to lack of funds.”
- “It is a chance to change a life! I was given a helping hand and it is now time for me to lend a helping hand.”
- “To create future breadwinners.”
You can follow their progress on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
What you can do:
- Sponsor the walkers – they hope to collect at least R1000 for every kilometre
- Sponsor a specific bursary
- Make a pledge to support the fundraising drive in future
- Think and talk about funding for education
You get:
- Individual donors get Article 18A tax receipts
- Corporate and business donors get BEE point-earning verification
Students get:
- Financial aid to study at tertiary level
- Study support
- Help with making the transition to work