DHL Stormers and adidas do it for charity
On May 9, the day before Mother’s Day, the DHL Stormers took on the Brumbies at DHL Newlands in once-off jerseys adorned with pink roses in honour of their mothers and the women of South Africa.
For two days after the nailbiting match, where the DHL Stormers beat the Brumbies by 25-24, five of the players’ jerseys went on auction on Twitter, with all proceeds being pledged to Sisters Incorporated, a charity supporting abused women and their children.
“We auctioned our match day Mother’s Day jerseys on Twitter and were overwhelmed by the response that we got from our fans,” said DHL Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen.
“The five jerseys raised R78,000 for Sisters Incorporated and we are proud to be able to make a difference to the lives of the women and children who call the charity home.”
In addition to the R78,000 raised through the Twitter auction, adidas (the DHL Stormers’ technical and apparel sponsors) then went on to pledge a further R22,000 to bring the donation to R100,000.
“It was a real storm in a teacup with the special edition jersey creating quite a stir on social media and amongst fans,” said Adrian de Souza, Head of Rugby at adidas South Africa.
“Whether you loved it or hated it, the jersey created great conversation and achieved its aim of paying tribute to mothers and women and raising an amazing amount of money for Sisters Incorporated.”
Sisters Incorporated is a charity based in Cape Town which was established in 1959. It acts as a safe house for abused women and their children and helps the women get back on their feet by supporting them and helping them with training and skills development. The organisation also offers a safe place to call home, counselling and access to medical care and schooling for the children.
The Twitter auction included the jerseys of Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi, Damian de Allende, Nic Groom and Schalk Burger using the @adidasZA handle and the players’ individual bidding hashtags (#bidDuane, #bidSiya, #bidDamian, #bidNic, #bidSchalk).
“Besides the money that we raised, the Storm in a Teacup campaign also aimed to say thank you to all the mothers and women of South Africa – including our own moms – and it was a real honour to play in a jersey inspired by the women in our lives,” said a proud Vermeulen.
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF THIS ONE-OFF JERSEY!
* A limited number of replica jerseys are still available at selected sports retail stores in the Western Cape.
