Subscribe to L2P News London, UK. 01 May 2009
Cyclists who rode last year’s London-Paris Cycle Tour have paid for a new classroom at a school in South Africa. Riders raised £20,894 for Christel House, a youth education charity, in Cape Town, and children have named the new classroom “HotChillee” after the company which stages the London-Paris Cycle Tour.
Cyclists Alice Monger-Godfrey, Nikki Harris and Emma Davies at Christel House
The HotChillee Challenge Team visited Christel House while in Cape Town for the recent Pick ‘n’ Pay Cycle Tour in Cape Town.
HotChillee’s Sven Thiele said: “We were really excited to see the school and were thrilled to meet the young learners. We feel proud to support a cause that’s helping so many disadvantaged children get a good education and equipping them with all-round life skills. Christel House has a wonderful model of education and empowerment for their learners,” says Thiele.
The HotChillee Team in Freedom Park Township
Thiele and the riders toured the facilities and met young people: “We had a great tour of the school and the surrounding communities. We got to meet some of the people from the adjacent township, Freedom Park, and hear how they too were benefiting from the new school. Everyone seems to be really proud of the new school.
“We want to thank everyone at Christel House for the work that they do. We are proud to be affiliated with them and know that our small gift will go along way towards helping this outstanding school to grow,” said Thiele.
Christel House Young Learners
Christel House was founded by Christel DeHaan, a timeshare and travel and tourism businesswoman, who is an advocate of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Christel House aims to break the cycle of poverty by empowering young people through education, health care and opportunity.
Christel DeHaan pledged to match fund-raising by the 300 riders in the London-Paris Cycle Tour, which enabled the new classroom to be built.
“When I heard about the wonderful work that DeHaan had started with Christel House in 2002, I was inspired by her generous heart and immediately wanted to help,” said Thiele.
The London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour runs from June 25 – 28 and is sponsored by adidas, Science in Sport, Subaru, Specialized, Cyclevox, Sigma Sport and British Cycling. This year’s event will have four partners, the Geoff Thomas Foundation (a leukaemia charity set up by former England footballer Geoff Thomas), Christel House, Schools for Children of Cambodia and South Africa’s Morning Star, which works with children with HIV.