FUNDRAISERS

Fundraisers are crucial at Up with Down’s. In 2019 the Golf Day held at the George Golf club was a resounding success, bringing in over R90 000. The annual wine auction which took place at Fancourt on 25 May 2019 was attended by almost 200 people and over half a million rand was the eventual result of an evening full of fun and celebration. The energetic Frederick Bekker, kicking off his brand new business venture, Bekker Auctioneers, managed to sell a 5 litre Durbanville Hills “Tangram” (specially bottled by wine maker Martin Moor for this occasion) for the spectacular amount of R103 500!

Our first ever online raffle was succesfully run from the 1st of March 2021 to 31 May 2021!

Winners have been drawn!

Congratulations to Pete and Aileen Robinson – residents of George, who were the lucky winners of our firste prize fire pit Boma!

2^nd prize winner of a meat voucher from The Fat Butcher: Sam Rubin

3^rd prize winner of a meat voucher from The Fat Butcher: Derek Aron

Thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser.

And thank you to our sponsors: Fanie Roos from Trailtech SA for making and sponsoring the unique, striking boma and Gerrit and Marlize van der Walt from the Fat Butcher for sponsoring two meat hampers for 2nd and 3rd prize.

The Up with Down’s Car Boot sale is a new and fun addition to our fundraising calendar. We have hosted three very successful sale events. This year’s event was held on Saturday 6th of March and was very well supported and a lot of fun! The atmosphere was light hearted and had a true community spirit. We will keep you posted about the date for our next event in the public park at 18 Pieter Theron street, Blanco.  For enquiries or to book a space for the next sale phone the school office at 044 870 8770.

A sponsored golf day is the second event each year. Usually held at the beautiful George Golf Club, this has become a favourite  amongst the golfing fraternity along the Garden Route. The 2020 Golf day was held on 12 March.

Many thanks to all our players, sponsors and donors who made this our best golf day ever!  Below are the results of the day.  For those players who were not at prizegiving and did not collect their prizes, please contact Brenda on 082 853 5018 to arrange delivery/collection.  Team photographs are at the school.

Winners: Freddie Rodich (Hcp 13.9) and Johan Smit (Hcp 22) on 47 points
Runners Up: John Ross and Paul Hofman on 45 points c/i
3rd: André Coetzer and Joe du Plessis on 45 points c/o
4th: Warren Erfman and Garth Le Roux on 44 points c/i
5th: Piet Potgieter and Johan du Plessis on 44 points c/o
6th: Neil Kruger and Nick Nieman on 43 points c/i
7th: James Tita and Engela Hugo on 43 points
8th: Manny Barboza and Graham Richards on 43 points
9th: Cat Savage and Bob North on 42 points
10th: N Viljoen and F de Swardt on 41 points c/i

Most Golf
B Stockett and Katty

The Wine Auction is one of the highlights of the year. A formal dinner & dance which is held at Fancourt Golf Estate. Each year has a special theme which is reflected in the decor and guests can dress accordingly. The wine auction is managed by a professional auctioneer. There are a number of lots, containing a variety of wines most of which come directly from the Wine Estates’ cellars. Each year the learners also make an item to auction. It is a glamorous evening, that everyone loves.

2021 Wine Auction – ‘Picnic under the Stars’

A change of venue and a relaxed theme made this year’s wine auction rather a contrast from years gone by…… the event was sold out in spite of a chilly evening in George on 22^nd May.

Over 150 guests enjoyed the live music (Philip Gibbs) as well as entertainment by the UWD learners which was then followed by the auctioning of 153 bottles of wine, all donated to the school to help raise funds for the completion of the building of an adult home.

Delicious cheese platters, and then burgers and prawns were supplied by the Cornerstone Lifestyle Centre’s various food outlets, MEET, Salt & Stone, Corner Club Deli and Emporium and Milwicks Coffee Shop, together with complimentary wines which were supplied on the tables by the Meridian Wine Group made for a lavish ‘picnic under the stars’.

Long time supporter and friend of UWD, Frederick of Bekker Auctioneers, proved that he has not lost his touch with ‘live events’…… in just over 2 hours all 40 lots were sold.  The lowest bid for a lot of 3 bottles went for R2750, the UWD floating barrel sold for R20 000, and after a ‘re-auction’ the UWD floating Sabre (donated by Haute Cabriere several years back) generated R39 000 for the school!

Over the years the artwork lovingly made by our learners has become sought after – this year the 2 salad bowls sponsored by Jos Marshall of Wonki Ware and The Pottery, and hand decorated by the children, fetched a tidy sum of R26 000!

Special guest on the evening was the iconic David Nieuwoudt from Cederberg Wines…… “Wines with Altitude”.  Not only did David donate 5 lots of his international award-winning wines, after buying and then reauctioning the sabre, he offered the new owner of the piece 24 bottles of his Cederberg MCC bubbles. Thankyou David!

We would like to thank everyone who attended the event for their fabulous support, and all those who were not there but either sponsored items, made a donation or gave of their time to create a fundraiser to remember!

This year our Cycle Tour explored the Ruiterbos/ Friemersheim area. On the 16th of October our 34 cyclists set off from Eight Bells Mountain Inn to complete the 54km that the first day of cycling had in store for them. This included stops at the Ruiterbos Agri citrus farm, with lots of sweet, moist nartjies on offer; picnic stops manned by parents and family; and at the end of day 1 at Outeniqua Moon Guest Farm where the cyclists had the most wonderful opportunity to mount the biggest horse bred in South Africa, Shadowfax. Eight Bells is famous for its afternoon tea, so that was the ideal time for some of our adults and learners to pay the cyclists a visit.  The second day the cyclists headed east of Eight Bells and made their way towards Friemersheim. This 47km section saw some major up and down hills as well as a  loop on a working protea farm. This year’s tour will definitely be remembered for its camaraderie and wonderful team spirit. Thank you 2021 Cycle tour participants, you were awesome. Hope to see you again next year!

Up with Down’s Market Day is held in the fourth term. The Market Day was established to display and sell all the arts and crafts and vegetables grown by the learners throughout the year. The adults, with the help of parents, run a coffee shop and food stall.  In 2019 we held a night market for the first time, and our 2021 night market which was held on Friday 26 November and was once again a resounding success!

Every year the school produces a 12 month calendar featuring photos of our learners and adults. The calendars are sold to raise funds, and advertising space is sold on each page of the calendar. The 2021 Calender is currently on sale, and the theme is “Smile, and the world smiles with you.” Contact Brenda Boshoff on 044 870 8770 of 082 853 5018 for more information.