Sarnian SA's raise thousands for charity

Sunday 19 February 2023

A newly formed South African Society in Guernsey has raised £8,000 for charity with plans to do more fundraising to benefit other good causes.

The Guernsey Protea Society, a not-for-profit organisation, was set up to bring both South Africans and locals together to give back to the Guernsey community.

It held its inaugural event at the Duke of Richmond Hotel with the legendary South African cricketer and selector, Andrew Hudson, flying in from South Africa to be guest speaker.

The organisers said it was a fantastic night with 150 people attending, raising more than £8,000 to be split equally between the Youth Commission for Guernsey and Alderney and Goal50.

Chair of the Guernsey Protea Society Maree Wilms told Express she was pleased with how this first event went.

“The aim of the Guernsey Protea Society is to recognise and build on the links between South Africa and Guernsey," she said. "Providing a platform for networking whilst simultaneously raising awareness and funding for worthy causes, for distribution between organisations that benefit the youth of Guernsey and South African communities.

“We are incredibly delighted with how our first event went and to be able to give £4,000 to both the Guernsey Youth Commission and Goal50. We can’t wait to hosting more events in the not-too-distant future. We would also like to thank Butterfield for being our primary sponsor.”

Ms Wilms said there is estimated to be around 2,500 South Africans living in Guernsey working across various industries.

She hopes that by generating more interest in the new Society they can raise more money to share with other charities at future events.

"Guernsey Protea Society was started by the committee members to raise money for Guernsey and South African charities as a small way of saying thank you to the Guernsey community for welcoming all the South Africans to their beautiful island," Ms Wilms said.

The charity's objectives include encouraging South African residents to meet socially, to get involved in the community and to promote the island's 'social, fraternal, educational, sporting and cultural activities'.

Anyone, either South African or non-South African, can contact the GPS using the details above. 

Pictured top: (front row) Gareth Smith, Mark Chasey, Maree Wilms, Stuart Talbot, Natalie Finlayson, (back row) Martin Dale-Bradley, Michael Rogers, Mark Finlayson.