8
NEWS
Champions for Charity
In her ‘clash of the plumbing industry heavyweights’, Du Toit
took on Chanel Schoeman. All monies raised went to the
fighters’ nominated charities and any excess monies was
equally distributed to all the charities. It was an entertaining
evening with supporters egging on their fighter as they
proceeded to ‘klap the h---’ out of each other – in the nicest
possible way. Judging was done by the spectators at the
various tables and without a doubt good fun was had by all –
including the fighters.
Following the highly novel and effective charity fund-
raising fight-fest hosted by the plumbing industry
on 20 July, September saw the donation of money
raised to the various charities.
Plumbing Africa was on hand to see its own champion for
charity, Zeldalee Du Toit, hand over a cheque for R2 500 to
her favourite charity, the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals) in Edenvale.
On 10 August, Du Toit handed over a cheque in person at
the Edenvale SPCA. A grateful Jade Nel, inspector: SPCA
Edenvale, says, “We’re extremely grateful for all donations.
Our monthly overheads between rent, municipal charges,
maintenance, food for the animals, and the rest, amounts to
about R80 000 per month.” The SPCA gets a modest grant
from the municipality because the SPCA effectively does
what the municipality themselves ought to be doing.
Zeldalee Du Toit (centre), handing over the cheque to SPCA inspector Jade Nel (right),
with Plumbing Africa editor Eamonn Ryan (left).
One little-known fact is that the SPCA has a farmyard
section holding animals that should never have been pets
in the first place – horned goats for instance – and these
tend to be fairly permanent since they seldom go to new
homes. “People can ‘virtually’ adopt them as these are
animals that you cannot have in your home. The bulk of our
support comes from the community – Edenvale is a fantastic
community, and we have built a good reputation among its
people, as we have made quite a difference through our
activities. If we are running low on anything specific, for
instance, if we get a large intake of kittens and need kitten
food, we put out a plea on social media and tend to get a
good response.” Indeed, the day Plumbing Africa arrived
there was a steady stream of people making donations of
food and other items. It also asks for donations from people
adopting the animals, and there was similarly no shortage of
highly adoptable pets available, including several charming
puppies, as well as young dogs and cats.
Much of the work is done by volunteers, some of whom
often also cook food for the aspiring pets at their homes
and bring it in. Animals that need special attention will get
chicken and rice to improve their condition, explains Nel.
However, there are other occasions when what the SPCA
most needs is money: “Sometimes we can have a vet bill
of R30 000, which is not fully covered by adoption fees or
sterilising animals.”
While some animals are strays – and Nel says they have a
‘fairly good’ rate of them being reclaimed by owners – the
current poor state of the economy means homeowners
are increasingly abandoning pets or downgrading their
accommodation to pet-unfriendly estates or retiring. “We are
the only organisation that cannot say no. Whatever animal
comes our way, we will never say no. Ninety percent of the
time abandonment is because of money.”
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
@plumbingonline
@plumbingonline
Du Toit says, “I chose the Edenvale SPCA because of the
fantastic job they do, and their close community relationship.
I know that every rand given to the SPCA means value
for money and that a lot of these wonderful animals will
consequently find good homes. As an animal lover – I believe
they deserve it!” PA
@PlumbingAfricaOnline
October 2019 Volume 25 I Number 8