Bucket Seat: KIA GOTG Campaign

Kia South Africa this week launches a unique ‘Test Drive for Good’ campaign in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province, inviting all residents in the province to help raise funds for acclaimed Pietermaritzburg-based humanitarian aid organisation, Gift of the Givers. Open to all residents in the province, Kia South Africa - with its 12-strong dealer network in the province - is committing a donation of R100 to Gift of the Givers for every test drive completed over the Heritage Day weekend in September. 

“The Kia brand is celebrating its 25th anniversary in South Africa this year and has had a presence in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province right from the beginning,” comments Gary Scott, CEO, Kia South Africa. “As we celebrate the success of the brand over this period, we want to give back to the communities we serve and, in the spirit of our brand slogan Movement that inspires, Kia wants to partner with the residents of the province – whether they are Kia owners or not – to achieve this goal by blending a brand experience with collaborative fundraising in a fun and highly relevant, localised manner.” 

Kia South Africa is a long-standing supporter of Gift of the Givers, individually and as part of Motus Holdings. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Motus Holdings donated four vehicles to further aid the life-saving work Gift of the Givers do. In March 2021, Kia also donated a Sportage 2.0 CRDi EX AWD to the organisation, used primarily by Dr. Sooliman as he travelled across South Africa on various humanitarian missions in execution of the organisation’s mandate.

“As South Africans doing business with South Africans in South Africa, it is critical to us that the Kia brand is trusted and loved by all South Africans,” adds Scott. “Our desire to facilitate change while providing mobility resonates with Gift of the Givers’ position of providing assistance unconditionally and assisting the needy, irrespective of human or animal, race, religion, colour, class, political affiliation or geographic location.”

The ‘Test Drive for Good’ campaign follows a donation of R100,000 to the organisation at the beginning of September. The donation was presented to Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman during Kia South Africa’s 2023 Kia Leadership Conference, where Dr. Sooliman delivered a message of hope and resilience to the 120-plus audience. Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest indigenous disaster response NGO (non-governmental organisation) on the African continent, with the essence of its presence being to bring hope and restore dignity to the most vulnerable. Its primary focus is on disaster response, hunger alleviation, water provision, healthcare, education and social upliftment. 

Kia has 12 dealerships in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province, specifically in Newcastle, Vryheid, Empangeni, Ballito, uMhlanga, Durban Central, Springfield, Amanzimtoti, Port Shepstone, Pinetown, Hillcrest and Pietermaritzburg. All of these dealers, with the exception of Kia Durban Central, will be open throughout the Heritage Day weekend, and collectively have the ambitious target of completing at least 3,000 test drives between Friday, September 22nd, and Monday, September 25th. With weather and other elements coming into play, KIA South Africa have decided to extend this campaign to this weekend, between Friday 29th September till and including Monday 2nd October! 

“We believe that our exclusive partnership with Gift of the Givers, itself a Kwa-Zulu Natal-based organisation, will ensure that all funds raised through the campaign are utilised to the direct benefit of the province’s residents,” adds Scott. “It’s as simple as completing a test drive of any Kia model at any Kwa-Zulu Natal Kia dealership, a simple act that guarantees a donation of R100 to Gift of the Givers by Kia. Let’s unite this Heritage Day weekend and collectively create a movement that changes an immeasurable number of lives for the better.” 

For more information, visit Test Drive For Good

Suncoast Casino Shines Again!

As most of you know, Suncoast Casino and Entertainment world has been undergoing renovations and extension over the past year, with the Casino set to be expanding, more parking and a whole new food court coming up. Last night I was invited to the launch of the refurbished Casino area, where we could get to see what the overall look of the new gambling floor was to look like. 

Suncoast has always been one of Durban's star attractions, and the packed crowds prove this point. With Durban always having that Miami vibe, it was with this in mind that the Casino was developed in an Art-Deco theme, this transcends from the exterior to the interior, with the bright colours, neon lights and lavish decor. With the new look Casino, much of this transpired with that, and while renovations are not 100% complete yet, we could see the difference between the old and the new. 

The new area is much brighter, this just highlights the extent of the refurb as it brings out the colours in the new plush carpets, makes the granite embedded in the new tables sparkle and the columns which are decorated lavishly marble just illuminate in it all. Apart from the new tables, Suncoast have also brought in some new slot machines for those that prefer thrill they bring. Overall the new look is definitely a good one but we were not just there to look at the new Casino but were also offered to try our luck at a bit of gambling, with the winner taking home R2500 for a charity of their choice. 

We started off with Black Jack, after a brief intro by our dealer it was time to knuckle down and win some money....for charity of course. It seems like the cards were not on my side though, as I was broke by the last hand, not to worry, I had a chance to redeem myself in the next game, roulette! Now I don't gamble often but when I do, I do fancy the spinning wheel on the roulette table, as luck would have it, the ball was bouncing in my favour as I turned my R1000 worth of chips into R4940 after 7 spins! I was in the lead for a short-while before I was pipped off by another player. Into to the finals we went, Black Jack was the game to decide it all, I did much better than my first round, ending off with R1500, but falling short by R50 of claiming the prize. 

It was a great night, loads of fun, tasty food which was catered by Suncoast's very own Cafe Vigor. The new Casino area is looking fantastic, even if you aren't an avid gambler it is certainly worth a trip to see, and while you're there you can have a look at the changes that have been made to the food court and Suncoast beach. 

#TBD2017

Back in the day when Twitter was still fun and not filled with fake news, fake agenda's and well, fake people, a few good Tweeps decided to do something a lot more with the social platform and not just use it as a place for following celebs and keeping up to date with the trends. They made the social network, work for them by networking with others for a common cause, to donate blankets to the needy over the winter season and all it took was a single tweet in 2010, since then Twitter Blanket Drive has grown in leaps and bounds with more partnerships and more donations over the years. This year see's it running for the 7th year and partners up with #DignityDrive, which is an initiative launched local TV personality Siv Ngesi. 

Last year, in celebration of his 31st birthday, Siv opted out of a birthday bash and instead challenged South Africans to donate much needed sanitary products for girls who cannot afford them. "If men bled once a month, there would be free pads available, like condoms! I will not rest until this is a reality" says Ngesi. So in conjunction with collecting new or used blankets for the less fortunate, this year the Twitter Blanket Drive will also welcome donations of pads, tampons, and reusable moon cups. Like the years before, the kind folk at Protea Fire & Ice in Pretoria, Melrose Arch and Cape Town have opened their doors as collection points. For folks in Durban, the local drop of venue is St Clements, at 191 Musgrave Road, Durban. 

Collections started on Monday the 3rd of April and ends on the 25th of May 2017. Supporters and donors can come to the final day to help count the donations received, depending on the venue, there will be performances by local artists who all have volunteered their time and performances on the night. While many of us do get caught up with a lot of the bad that happens on the social platform, this is one of the good things that we have going, so lets help spread the word and hopefully make a small change to someones life by giving something back. 

For more information or to become involved in this years drive, please visit www.twitterblanketdrive.com 

Official hashtags and accounts to note.  @tbdsouthafrica & @tdbafrica, when donating, please use the hashtag #TBD2017 & #DignityDrive.

Worlds Longest Test Drive

Want to be part of history? Well this is your chance! In celebration of launching their new Sportage model, KIA Motors South Africa are taking this opportunity to embark in what will be the Worlds Longest Test Drive right here in our country. Kicking off on October the 14th in Durban, the route will see a fleet of 10 Sportage's travel across the country visiting the numerous KIA Motors dealerships, and finally ending the journey in Cape Town on the 20th of October.

The test drive won't only be the longest in distance but also the biggest in terms of number of vehicles used in it. The vent will bring together hundreds of consumers from all across the country as they test drive a part of the route in a relay, not only to experience what the new Sportage has to offer but also putting them in with a chance to win the all-new KIA Sportage. 

David Sieff, the Marketing Director of KIA Motors South Africa had this to say, "As the vehicle that revolutionized the compact SUV market and the KIA brand in South Africa, the all new Sportage will make a bold statement when it launches locally in October. It's a vastly improved vehicle in every way, and will prove itself over the duration of the World's Longest Test Drive as the ultimate compact SUV for South African families."

The entire journey will be captured on various recording devices, from dashcams to drones and a 24-7 film crew as part of this epic event. Joining the fun also will be local and international KIA spokespeople, local artist and celebrities as well as Instagrammers such as Lebo Lukewarm and Mike Eloff. KIA Motors is also taking this opportunity to give back to the communities on route by delivering educational supplies to schools in need. 

For more information and to register for the World's Longest Test Drive, visit www.kiaworldrecord.co.za. Please read the terms and conditions to make sure you qualify for the campaign. 

Add Hope

What is 2 rand? If someone had to ask you for it, it's a lot of money but if you had it in your hand, it isn't really much. Most people use it to tip car guards or petrol attendants, make up change to pay for the parking, or sometimes it just gathers in your purse or wallet with other change with eventually starts to bother you. What if I told you your R2 can do much more? What if I told you your R2 could help feed millions? A charity that has a set amount which is minimal, how? Well with the help of KFC, every time you make a purchase at one of thier branches, you get the option to purchase "Hope" for R2 to add to your order.

What is Add Hope? It was launched 4 years ago by KFC as their solution to feed the millions of starving children in South Africa. Statistics show that over a billion people are at the risk of starvation world wide and 239 million of them are from Africa. South Africa contributes 12 million to that figure with an estimated 3.3 million being children and the number is ever increasing. The R2 you donate goes straight to one of 90 beneficiaries which are feeding schemes that will use that money only to feed the children because the purpose of this year long drive is to provide nutritional, healthy and balanced meals to the growing children who don't have access to it. 

To this date the Add Hope initiative has managed to raise R183 million since its inception in 2009, R31 million of this has been raised in 2013, this included the R2 donations from the public and the franchisees who selected local community projects to contribute to every year. This campaign is different to others because it gives each an everyone one of us the chance to better the life of someone less fortunate, everyone deserves the right to a meal and we with the help of KFC and Add Hope can do this together.

For a list of the beneficiaries, clicke here

For more info on Add Hope and how you can contribute, visit the website: www.addhope.co.za

TBD 2011

The 4th of June came and went, and so with it the national Twitter Blanket Drive. As per my previous blog post #TBD the event was held on Saturday, June 4th with venues around the country. Durban making use of the great winter weather held the event for most part of the day, starting off with the I Heart Market in Greyville, there after at Luna Rossa at Gateway and ending off the day at Livingstons Pub in Glenashley.

The day itself was one for giving and to test the powers of social media by sending the message out to millions who use the network and for them to give a little something back. The response country wide was phenomenal with national radio station 5fm helping us spread the word. At the morning market alone we collected over 50 blankets and looked like getting even more at our 2nd event at Gateway. The weather was perfect as a summers day and slowly but surely twitter uses came by to drop off their blanket, share a drink and conversation with fellow tweeters.

I unfortunately couldn't make the last venue due to health reasons but I heard the turn out was great with many coming in with a blanket and to watch the rugby game between the Cheetah's and the Sharks on the big screens. Over all KZN collected an estimated 540 blankets and 70 t-shirts to donate to the Izulu Orphans Project in Northern KZN.

In only its 2nd year running it was good to see the #TBD get such great support from around the country and I cant only see it getting bigger and better as the years go by. Already looking forward to next years one!

#TBD

You've seen the hash tag, you've seen tweets about it but what exactly is #TBD? Everyone uses twitter for a purpose, whether its to vent your frustrations, share your thoughts or just as a pass time chatting to like minded folks, so with everything there is a chance to give something back. Since I spend most of my life time on twitter, I decided to get involved with this cause. Basically the Twitter Blanket Drive is a yearly event, which was started by @melanieminnaar last year and gives users the chance to go to specified locations around the country and donate a blanket for the less fortunate before the winter months roll in, this years being on the 4th of June. In exchange for the blanket one was rewarded with a cup of coffee and the chance to mix and mingle with other twitter users.

I was approached last year by @NevinSP to help photograph the event that was being hosted at Vida E, in Gateway, unfortunately due to family commitments I couldn't make it hence this year I'm throwing my weight (which is alot) behind the campaign, along with fellow Durban tweeters @waewest, @askashe, @lizlaughalot, @madammichelle & @coaxel. Although last years turn out was great, this year we're aiming to make it bigger and better with more venues, more sponsors and more importantly more time for you to make your drop off, meet and great with people doing the same.

The event will be held nationally so for more keep visting the website and search for the #TBD hashtag on twitter. That way if you want to get involved you can easily find more info on where your nearest venue is. As usual the 3 main cities have a little competition going on to see who can collect the most blankets but essentially the main winner is people who get these blankets. South African winters can get harsh as I found out last year during my visit to Joburg while the World Cup was on, so I cant imagine how the less fortunate survive with hardly much.


The venues for Durban are as follows:

1. 9am-12pm : I Heart Market - DLI Hall, Marriot Road, Greyville.
2. 11am-4pm : Luna Rossa - Gateway, Outside fountain food court (next to Primi)
3. 4.30pm - 8pm: Livingstons Gastro Pub - Glenore Center, Glenashley (Join us to watch the rugby)
   

How can one help?

• look out for tweets marked with the #TBD tag and RT.
• spread the word to anyone you know that wants to help out.
• come to any of the venues around the country on the 4th of June with a blanket.

At the end of the day its all about giving something back to the less fortunate, we're aiming to make this the biggest #TBD event to date, so help achieve this by popping down to any of the given venues with a blanket and join in on the fun of giving.

A big thank you to our sponsors that have come in so far: Williams Hunt, ABSA, SAPPI, CAR Magazine, FHM Magazine, TBWA, Paton Tupper, CarsSA.co.za and all of the tweeters that are helping spread the word.

Hope to see you on the 4th! and if you are participating, don't forget to use the #TBD hash tag!