From 2 to 6 June the Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival will cycle hundreds of kilometres in aid of the Theatre Benevolent Fund (TBF).
The team of 17 personnel departs on 2 June from Potchefstroom for the epic tour to the ATKV Natalia resort on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal. On route they will sleep over in Kroonstad, Bethlehem, Ladysmith and Pietermaritzburg and will arrive in Durban on 6 June.
Andries Vrey, CEO of Clover Aardklop, says the aim with the cycle tour is not only to raise money for the TBF, but it is also a campaign to raise awareness of the TBF’s selfless work.
“Without artists festivals won’t exist. While we create opportunities for young artists to find their feet in the industry, we should not forget about the artists that were part of the industry for many decades,” says Vrey.
The Theatre Benevolent Fund was founded 50 years ago. It is a benevolent fund managed and administrated by volunteers, without any state or corporate donations.
Currently 20 dependants receive a monthly allowance. The TBF is also regularly approached to assist with medical and hospital expenses, but its capital fund is not nearly strong enough to help with al the requests. In the long term the TBF wants to create as safe haven with the necessary medial equipment to support people from the industry who no longer have the means to support themselves.
Clover Aardklop makes an annual contribution to the TBF and last year also approached sponsors and artists in their personal capacity to become involved. Now thefestival is reaching out to the public to support people in the industry inneed.
Those who want to make a contribution can simply SMS “TBF” to 40770 until the 10th of June. A SMS costs R20. Members of the public are welcome to meet the Aardklop cycle team in the various towns to find out more about the TBF.
