Dube to launch Celebrities for Good Causes Foundation

In partnership with IFA, a division of Clientele Life, the foundation's first initiative aims to donate 70,000 pairs of school shoes to children from communities in all nine provinces.

Lilian Dube

On the evening of Thursday, 22 October, Dube will celebrate her milestone birthday at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg. Opening the evening with a VIP dinner, invited guests and friends will each donate an equivalent of four pairs of school shoes as an 'entrance fee' to the celebrations, and be treated to performances by Marah Louw and Abigail Kubeka.

"The 70,000 National School Shoes Project is just the beginning of what we intend to become an annual initiative under the Celebrities for Good Causes Foundation," Dube explains. "The basis of the organisation is to encourage South African celebrities to utilise their positive influences and networks under one banner to better the lives of those in need. To date we have already secured 25,000 pairs of school shoes."

Need for help

"There are so many people in desperate need for help in our country and yet their cries for assistance often go unheard. I am also aware that there are a number of high profile individuals and celebrities who would love to lend a hand and make a difference in the lives of these individuals, but do not have the time or resources to make a meaningful contribution.

"It is for these reasons that I have taken the initiative to establish the Celebrities for Good Causes Foundation, in which all celebrities from the arts, sports and related fields come together in an effort to make a difference and fulfil their philanthropic aspirations," Dube says.

The decision to donate school shoes as the inaugural project was an obvious choice when considering that many children living in rural communities often walk to school barefoot on dangerous terrain for kilometres, to fetch clean water or when seeking medical help.

Strategic partnerships

Dube, her celebrity friends and event organisers have established strategic partnerships with local school shoes manufacturers, the SABC Foundation, Departments of Education and Social Development including NPO's across the country to ensure sustainability of the National School Shoes Project.

The 70,000 pairs of school shoes will be handed to registered NGO's for distribution to needy communities in all 9 provinces. The Celebrities for Good Causes Foundation aims to raise the annual target of total pairs of shoes donated by 1,000 pairs each year. In addition, the foundation intends to support issues including women abuse, substance abuse, suicide and depression, gender equality, cancer and HIV/AIDS in future initiatives.