2010 - Starfish Greathearts Foundation

Barclays World AIDS Day
Starfish is fortunate to receive support from a range of
corporations. This year we were particularly excited to
partner with Barclays for their World AIDS Day initiative.
On Wednesday 1st December 2010 employees from
Barclays ran a World AIDS Day campaign to raise
awareness of HIV/AIDS and to raise funds for Starfish.
The initiative was designed as an innovative way
to engage and unite employees across the world
in an important cause and in a short timeframe.
The international campaign encouraged joined-up
participation to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and
promote the good work already undertaken by Barclays,
particularly in Africa. The approach was community
focussed, with 34 locations in 20 countries running
different awareness and fundraising activities: from a
red ribbon projected onto Barclays at Canary Wharf, to
selling cakes in China, to being out and about raising
awareness in Zambia.
Each local Barclays team that took part chose their
own charity as well as donating funds to Starfish as the
global charity. The day was a fantastic success, both
in drawing together Barclays’ employees from across
the globe and raising awareness around HIV and
AIDS. Starfish is incredibly grateful for the generosity
and support from Barclays as an organisation and
for the individual employees who made it such
success. As a result of the day Barclays raised over
£4,000 for Starfish.
At the beginning of January I visited the Bophelo
Community Centre, one of the projects funded by
Starfish since 2009. Thanks to our team in South
Africa who joined me on the trip out to Meadowlands in
Soweto, I had the unique opportunity of seeing firsthand
the difference that Starfish is making in peoples’ lives.
We were hosted by the staff and two of the board
members at Bophelo who were very gracious and asked
that I send their greetings and thanks to the UK team for
the funding they have received thus far. We also met
the ladies who prepare the meals and the first of the
children who arrived at the centre that afternoon.
Bophelo was established ten years ago and is run out
of the premises of a disused clinic in Meadowlands
where their principal activity is currently to prepare and
provide lunch and serve as a drop in and support centre
to around 200 children affected by HIV/AIDS in the
local community.
The staff at Bophelo also coordinate home visits, support
and counselling for the children and their guardians
and meet with teachers at the various local schools the
children attend plus network with the broader community
in Meadowlands and the department of social welfare.
Bophelo currently provides one meal a day, however
they hope in the future to be able to cater breakfasts too
and, if possible, food packages to cover the weekends.
UK trustee Jessica Stalley
Fundraising highlights from Starfish UK
2010 saw a range of successful initiatives. Here are just
a few of the things our supporters got up to:
The Sports Campaign
The Flora London Marathon 2009, British 10k, Starfish
Breakfast Run & Picnic and the Royal Parks Half
Marathon all had fantastic representation from Starfish
supporters. With corporate teams from Deutsche Bank
to individual sports people the sports campaign grows
from strength to strength. More people than ever before
used the excuse to get fit and to fundraise for Starfish
and the campaign raised over £65k.
Saracens
Also related to sport, Starfish’s relationship with
Saracens rugby team developed this year and when the
Springbok’s visited Wembley in November 2009 to play
Saracens. Starfish had a great opportunity to fundraise
from supporters outside the ground. Continuing on the
rugby vein Starfish benefitted from two UK based rugby
communities honing their playing skills on the ground at
a partner CBO. Kings College Hospital Rugby Football
Club and Cobham Rugby Football club combined
the love for rugby with raising money for Starfish and
enjoying some unforgettable visits to the centres
who received donations thanks to their hard work
and dedication.
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