Cambridge To Cape Town
£625.00 raised
13 donations
My Target:
£625.00 raised so far
How to make a donation
Donate online at - www.justgiving.com/cambridgetocapetown
By mobile internet Scan this code on your smartphone to go straight to Ian Stephenson's page.
By text message to donate £10 Text EMSR82 £10
to 70070
My story
Here's a story...
After a terrible storm at sea, all the starfish had washed up on the shore where they were drying out and dying under the sun. A man noticed all the dying starfish and one by one, started to throw them back into the sea. A second man noticed what he was doing. He walked up to him and said, "There are far too many starfish! You'll never be able to throw back all of them." But after hearing this, the first man picked a starfish and threw it back into the sea with all his might. He turned and told the second man, "At least I made a difference to that one."
Hello, I'm Ian and I have been blessed enough to have grown up with parents that support me in everything I do. But in our world, a lot of children have to grow up without people to guide them, let alone their own parents. They are like the dying starfish washed up on the shore with no hope or opportunity. They grow up to be very vulnerable and are likely to get involved with gangs and drugs.
'The Starfish Greathearts Foundation' reaches out to some of the 2.01 million 'AIDS orphans' (children whose parents have been victims from AIDS and are not able or alive to care for them) in South Africa, to give them a good education, counselling and social grants so that they might grow up and have an impact on society. Otherwise they will simply be a lost generation.
With my South African heritage, I really want to make a difference to the orphan children of South Africa. I have now run my 11 mile route around Cambridge with success! I also made it to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town during the first week of the Easter vacation. In the spirit of this Olympic year, instead of a torch, throughout my runs and treks, I carried a starfish.
I also visited Ethembeni in Mpophomeni, KwaZulu-Natal which is a 'family center', designed to give food everyday to seventy children as they go to and from school. The center also has five computers for educating the older students, and a playground area where the children that attend can feel safe talk and play. The center was established as a means of caring for children that were living on their own or not being looked after by parents. They also supply them with equipment for school and hygiene at home as well as counselling and psychosocial help if needed. After looking around the very well built and kept center, we made about 125 polony sandwiches for the children to take home for dinner. Then, all the children which were there at the time gathered into on of the main rooms and started singing and dancing along with my aunt and her guitar as she sang some, mostly Zulu, church songs. Their smiles and instinct to sing, which is typical of their culture was really inspiring and shows the real change that can happen with your support! Thank you so much for all of your donations that make things like this possible! My site is open until late June so pray for more donations to come and please spread my website to friends to share my cause. Please feel free to check out my photos and videos from the trip.
If you would like to support me in this, please pick up your starfish and donate now.
Thank you,
Ian Stephenson
Visit www.starfishcharity.org for more info.
My gallery 9
My charity
Starfish Greathearts Foundation
Charity Registration No. 1093862
Starfish Greathearts Foundations supports children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa. Starfish believes in bringing life, hope and opportunity to these children…helping each child, one child at a time.
Donations 13
Dear Ian, Congratulations on reaching the summit of Table Mountain and visiting the orphas together. Love, Grannie & Grandpa S. James 1:27.
Donation by Robin Stephenson on 12/04/12
£100.00
We are so proud of what you are doing! love, Uncle Bryan & Aunt Lynn
Donation by Lynn Badgett on 04/04/12
Go for it, Ian - but mind those monkeys! We look forward to hearing all about it. Best of British luck... Love from Laurence, Caro, William and Olivia
Donation by Laurence Drake on 23/03/12
£25.00
+ £6.25 Gift Aid
Climb, Ian, climb !!! Don't let the "tablecloth" get over you on top of Table Mountain. Wish we could join you. Much love, Grandma and Grandpa-pop
Donation by Mark Harmeling on 17/03/12
£50.00
Well done, Ian, on completing the first part of your challenge! We are so proud of you! Next stop, Table Mountain! Love, Mom and Dad
Donation by Christopher Stephenson on 16/02/12
£100.00
+ £25.00 Gift Aid
Fantastic story Ian, and a great challenge to undertake. Best of luck.
Donation by Tristan Drane on 14/02/12
£20.00
+ £5.00 Gift Aid
Run, Ian, run ! We are so very proud of you! Grandma and Grandpa-pop
Donation by Mark Harmeling on 06/02/12
Good luck and well done for trying to make a difference to children in South Africa who are in need.
Donation by Mary MURKETT on 01/02/12
Well done for taking on these challenges, Ian, for a great cause; hope you have a fantastic time.
Donation by Sandra Robinson on 30/01/12
I am really proud of you Ian. Good luck and keep the starfish safe.
Donation by Ann Drane on 26/01/12
A great cause. Good luck. Di Slack
Donation by Dianne Slack on 21/01/12
Good Luck, Ian. We love the starfish; wonder where is came from? Keep us posted on your progress! All the best from Anne, Peter, John and Will.
Donation by Anne Altherr on 20/01/12
Go for it, Ian! A great cause and a big personal challenge.
Donation by The Wienand family on 18/01/12
Donation summary
- * Online donations£625.00
- Offline donations£0.00
- Text donations£0.00
- Total raised£625.00
- Gift Aid£96.25
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
