Athlone Trust nominated for service award
2010-05-13
THE Athlone Institute Trust, which focuses on poverty alleviation in Paarl, has been chosen as one of the 30 finalists for the 2010 Impumelelo Sustainability Awards. The winners will be announced on Sunday. Impumelelo has become a prestigious national and international award programme which has rewarded some of government and civil society’s best examples of service delivery. The Athlone Institute was initially established in 1926 by local churches (Bethel, Holy Trinity, St Stephen’s, Immanuel and Zions) as a teachers’ training school. The original building now houses Noorder Paarl High. The college closed in 1993 and the funding was transferred to the Athlone Institute Trust, the Athlone Fund Trust, and the Athlone Charitable Trust, which provide funding for community initiatives that focus on poverty alleviation. To date, four projects have been established, while ongoing assistance is also provided to churches, NPOs and for emergency/disaster funds. The four projects are the Athlone Institute Bursary Fund, the Athlone House of Strength (AHOS), @Complab (a computer help centre), and Athlone Institute Trust and Allandale Correctional Project (AITACOP). One new project is chosen each year and funded for five years on a diminishing capitalisation method. There are also attempts to engage with government departments in order to make the projects more sustainable. By the end of last year - after ten years since its inception in 1998 - the bursary fund had assisted 981 students at various tertiary institutions with bursaries and bursary loans totalling R4,26 milion. AHOS is a shelter for abused women – the buildings were built by inmates of Allandale Prison (AITACOP), helping to keep the costs low. Programmes provided by AHOS include computer training, early childhood development, sewing training, support and therapeutic crafting groups, and a shelter for women attending the programme. Thus far, a welding centre has been opened at the Hawequa Correctional Facility under the AITACOP, which is one of five disciplines that will be addressed. Most of the projects focus on providing skills to those involved (either through a bursary, or through skills training), which improves their chances of being able to access an income in the future. The project had accumulated funds of R19 million by 2008. Thus, it has substantial capital available for supporting its projects. The Trust receives most of the money from investments it has made over the years. By partnering with local community members, and with government departments, the chances of sustainability for the project are improved. Impumelelo awards projects in three categories (Platinum, Gold and Silver) and the prize money must be used for two purposes: to share and encourage adaptation and to disseminate the success story. As Impumelelo is an non-profit organisation, its monetary prizes depend on corporate and donor sponsorships.
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