The team of six riders who participated in the recent FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz event in support of the Anna Foundation, a local NPO, managed to secure an impressive win.
Starting out the race along the trails of the Cape Winelands on Friday November 4, the team crossed the finish line on Sunday November 6, securing a win in the form of a top podium position.A win, which will more significantly benefit the rural children of Raithy Primary School.
Information provided by the Anna Foundation, reveals how for the second year running, riders Linus van Onselen, Eben Espach, Carel Vosloo, Tobie Van Heerden, Pierre-Henri Olivier and Hannes Hannekom came together to take on the 3 Stage Mountain Biking race in support of the foundation.
The Anna Foundation is a Winelands-based charity that works to support the holistic development of farm children through education, sports and life-skills programmes facilitated on farms or at rural schools.
In the 2021 edition of the event, the riders were able to raise seed-funding for the Foundation to open a new after-school project at Raithby Primary, a farm school located in the small rural community of Raithby. In this year’s event, they set out to raise funds to further enhance this new project.
While Linus van Onselen and Eben Espach – with a combined age of 131 years – secured an impressive victory in the Great Grandmasters category, the combined fundraising efforts of all riders ensured that the foundation would be able to continue their newly founded project into 2023.
And as in previous years, children involved in the foundation’s projects on nearby farms were able to see these heroes reach the finish line – an experience which continues to be a huge inspiration for them.
Anna Foundation Founder and Director Anna Brom says: “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 for the work that we do in rural and farming communities. It is fantastic to see the commitment towards community development from such events as the FNB Wines2Whales and we honoured to partner with them towards this goal.”
Anna Foundation is an non-profit organisation committed to providing Reading, Running and Right-ing (their 3’R’s Programme) to rural farming communities in the Western Cape. Focused on the long-term impact on children’s life, the organisation offers well-designed holistic after-school programmes including education, sport and life skills. Read more on the work they do at, www.annafoundation.com
