The plight of young burns victims is set to be eased a little after Engen raised over half a million rand in 2013 in support of the Burns Unit at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.

A cheque for R612,500 was handed over to Helen White of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital Trust by Engen’s General Manager: Corporate Affairs, Tasneem Sulaiman-Bray, during the prize giving of the annual Engen Charity Golf Challenge at King David Golf Club in Cape Town in early December.

Now in its fifth year, the Engen Charity Golf Challenge attracts members of the Western Cape business community, who come out in force, knowing that their participation helps make a difference in the lives of young burns victims by raising much needed funds for the Specialist Paediatric Burns Unit at the hospital.

Funds raised on the day are combined with additional monies that Engen raises by linking an element of their sport sponsorship portfolio to charity. The company has raised over R3m in this manner over the past 5 years.

This is done in three ways.

Firstly, every goal scored in the PSL by Engen sponsored Santos and more recently, Supersport United raised R60,000. Secondly, every championship point achieved by the Engen Xtreme motorsport Racing team raised R129,900. And finally, a percentage of the entry fee of every rider participating in the Engen Cycle Challenge raised R183,700.

Sulaiman-Bray expressed her sincere gratitude to all who came out in support of the Engen Charity Golf Challenge before handing over the cheque to White.

White thanked Engen for helping enable the Specialist Burns Unit to rehabilitate countless young victims who are desperate to lead normal lives. “Engen’s unwavering commitment continues to make a huge difference to young children who face such great rehabilitation challenges as they attempt to cope with normal life,” she said.

Engen’s Group Sponsorship Manager, Brad Bergh said that improving the lives of young burn victims is the driving force behind the company’s on-going fund raising initiative. “We thank all who have participated in our sponsorship programmes throughout the year and in particular those valued business partners who have come out in support of the Engen Charity Golf Challenge. Their collective support has contributed to easing the pain and suffering of distressed little hearts.”