Fitment centre feature
Therapeutics in Tyres
Bridgestone’s heart has always been in the right place, and this was proved once again at Emperors Palace
in Ekurhuleni on 23 April 2014, when a cheque for a million Rand was handed over to breast cancer charity
PinkDrive, the biggest once-off donation ever received by the charity.
T
he money came
from the sale of pink
valve cap sets at
Bridgestone outlets at R50
a set, and with Bridgestone
funding the cost of the caps,
this enabled them to donate
the entire purchase price to
PinkDrive. Speaking at the
handover breakfast function
Bridgestone promotions
manager, Jan Maritz, said
the response from the public
had been overwhelming.
“When we first launched
the pink valve cap project
in October 2013, we were
apprehensive about whether
motorists would support
such an unusual fundraiser,”
he says. “We needn’t have
worried. With about 20
000 sets of valve caps sold, South Africa’s
drivers have rallied behind the cause,” he
added.
PinkDrive’s mission is to provide breast
cancer awareness and screening services
to disadvantaged communities. It now runs
three mobile breast check units and three
cars for community outreach. Since being
founded, PinkDrive has provided over 5500
mammograms and almost 60 000 clinical
breast examinations. It has also directly
educated nearly 90 000 women on breast
health.
PinkDrive’s founder Noelene Kotschan says
that the million Rand would make a huge
impact on the services PinkDrive delivers.
“It’s three months’ running costs,” she
explains. “We provide 480 mammograms a
month and educate ten times more women
in breast health.
This is a huge donation, the single biggest
cash donation we’ve ever received,” she
enthuses.
➲ PinkDrive’s
founder
Noelene Kotschan
(centre) accepts
the cheque from
Bridgestone
South Africa’s
public relations
manager
Desirée van
Niekerk, and sales
and marketing
director Philip Nel
“I’m so grateful to Bridgestone and the
motorists who did their bit by buying the
pink valve caps”. Kotschan adds that the
women who are assisted by PinkDrive
often have no medical aid or access to
hospitals. “We provide the only way for
them to be screened for breast cancer,”
she says.
Bridgestone’s Maritz urged the public to
continue supporting PinkDrive.
SMS the word
PINKDRIVE to 40158 to
donate R20 straight away,
or visit their website,
www.pinkdrive.co.za for
more information,
he concludes.
| words in action
40
may 2014