13TH SERIES OF McCARTHY\'S RALLY TO READ EDUCATIONAL UPLIFTMENT CAMPAIGNS KICKS OFF IN APRIL

The 13^th of the annual Rally to Read educational upliftment projects kicks off at the end of April. This year there will be 10 rallies to remote rural areas in South Africa to deliver much-need educational materials to 150 schools, which will in turn benefit more than 35 000 learners and in excess of 1 200 teachers.

This year there will be one event in each of eight regions of SA, with two additional rallies in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The rallies, which enjoy the full support of the various education departments in the regions, will take place weekly over five weekends from April 30 to May 30, with each event being either two or three days in duration. Three of the areas to benefit this year will be new, while three will be visited for a second time and four for a third year.

Once again more than 100 sponsors will be supporting these events, which will see convoys of four-wheel drive vehicles transporting hundreds of sponsors, journalists and guests to some of the country’s most remote areas.

The target for 2010 is to raise R5-million. These funds are used to purchase books as well as other educational materials for the learners and to provide teacher training. In addition this year there are further sponsorships consisting of a feeding scheme, soccer kitbags from Dreamfields and Enviro Resource packs.

Rally to Read started in 1998 as a joint venture between the McCarthy retail motor group, the Financial Mail weekly magazine and the READ Educational Trust. This ground-breaking literacy development programme has grown amazingly over the past 12 years and has already resulted in R37-million being invested in the project. During this period the 76 rallies have visited 650 schools in 34 different areas of the country.

McCarthy remains a key supporter, both in terms of encouraging its employees to get involved – more than 2 300 work hours are expended by these people outside of Saturday and Sundays – besides supporting the project directly on a financial basis. Many of the countrywide network of McCarthy dealerships are also involved in individual outreach programmes as well as supplying many of the 4x4 vehicles required for transport to deliver the educational materials.

“The impact that Rally to Read has had on numerous rural communities around South Africa is enormous,” commented the project co-ordinator, Iris Francis, who is also the Group Internal Communications and CSI Manager at McCarthy Ltd.

“The programme involves delivering a great deal of the reading material required for the learners as well as training for the educators. An important component of Rally to Read is that we don’t just want corporates to sponsor the programme, but rather to get involved personally in the delivery of the reading material to the communities. They can then see for themselves the effect it has on these people. It is a life changing experience for all involved.”

For more information about becoming part of this very worthy CSI project or sponsoring a set of library boxes, please contact the national Rally to Read coordinator, Iris Francis on 031-268-9298 or rally@mccarthy.co.za