The Anna Foundation boasts a team of six avid mountain bikers who are geared up for this year’s instalment of the FNB Wine2Whales three-stage race.
“As an official charity of the FNB Wines2Whales, we are absolutely delighted to be able to use this prestigious event as a platform to raise awareness of the work we do to address educational and social needs of disadvantaged school children in rural and farming communities, and to highlight the positive impact our after-school programmes are having on their self-development,” said Anna Bromm, founder and director of the NPO.
The Anna Foundation is a winelands-based charity that works to support the holistic development of disadvantaged rural children through education, sports and life-skills programmes. The community organisation employs and trains local women to operate these professionally developed programmes at 16 after-schools located on farms and at rural schools throughout the province. These facilities currently serve the needs of 500 rural children.
In last year’s edition of the FNB Wines2Whales three-day stage race, Team Anna Foundation rode to raise more than R100 000 in donations for the local charity to be able to open a new after-school programme at the primary school in the rural farming community of Raithby.
This November the team of six Stellenbosch superstars – Linus van Onselen, Eben Espach, Carel Vosloo, Tobie van Heerden, Pierre-Henri Olivier and Hannes Hanekom – are returning to the trails to raise funds to further develop the project and ensure the children of Raithby are reached with the academic and social support necessary for life-long learning. After achieving a few podium positions in last year’s event, and with both a MTB national champion and Grandmasters SA gravel champion in their ranks, the group of winelands residents are feeling confident about taking home a trophy or two this year.
