Dogtown SA named South Africa’s favourite charity

24 994 South Africans recently casted their vote in the annual MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet Vote4Charity survey in support of their favourite charity. The winning charity was Dogtown SA/Barking Mad, a MyPlanet beneficiary.

Dogtown SA/Barking Mad was followed by CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA, a MyVillage beneficiary and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in third place. The rest of the top 10 is made up of: Lucky Lucy Foundation, TEARS (The Emma Animal Rescue Society), Pug Rescue South Africa, MyPlanet Rhino Fund, Domestic Animal Rescue Organisation (D.A.R.G.), SPCA – Cape of Good Hope and Endangered Wildlife Trust – all MyPlanet beneficiaries. In 2015 there has been a change in voting sentiment with 68% of the votes for the Top 10 charities going towards MyPlanet beneficiaries (focusing on animal welfare), which is a 10% increase from the 58% during 2014. In total, 54.7% of votes cast went to MyPlanet beneficiaries and 45.3% of votes cast went to MyVillage beneficiaries (charities that care for people and children). The survey has provided great insights into the kind of charities that South Africans in the different provinces love to support. Most of the votes were cast in Gauteng (12 570), followed by the Western Cape with 9 437 votes. Provinces differ in their allegiance to MyVillage and MyPlanet charities, with nearly 60% of Gauteng votes going towards Planet charities. In the Western Cape, 51.8% of the votes went towards Planet charities and 48.3% towards MyVillage charities. In KwaZulu-Natal, 57.5% of votes went to MyVillage beneficiaries and 42.5% to MyPlanet charities. In the Eastern Cape, more than 65% of the votes cast went to MyVillage charities. Dogtown SA/Barking Mad, who was voted as the favourite charity in the 2015 Vote4Charity survey have won R70 000 towards the work they do rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming dogs in the greater Johannesburg area. “The prize money will be used exclusively to buy fencing for a new dog enclosure at our property. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us and taking us one huge step closer to moving all the Dogtown residents across to their new home”, says Pat Barr-Sanders, fundraiser at Dogtown SA. The runner-up, CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA, receives R35 000 and NSRI receives R25 000. The other seven beneficiaries in the Top 10 receive R10 000 each. The NSRI will be allocating their R25 000 to Station 24 in Lamberts Bay. Station 24 serves subsistence fishermen who often get lost in the fog. All the rescue crew are unpaid volunteers, so the money will go towards fuel, maintenance and medical supplies. Lucky Lucy Foundation, who work on relieving the plight of severely neglected and abused township and street animal, will be using their R10 000 towards the “No Hope Left” dogs and cats – these are grossly neglected animals, which the foundation feeds and gives medical treatment (including disease testing, vaccinations, sterilisations, de-worming, de-fleaing and microchipping) before attempting to find an adoptive home. “We are excited to see that once again so many South Africans cast their vote to support their favourite charity. Charities rely on support from the South African public and Vote4Charity provides us with a platform to showcase the variety or charitable causes that people can support with the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet card,” says Helene Brand, marketing manager at MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet.For more information on MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet, visit www.myschool.co.za.