OWN CORRESPONDENT
Over 1 800 people attended the event at the Sandton Convention Centre, which raised some R20 million for Chabad Johannesburg’s wide-ranging projects aimed at helping people improve their lives.
During the course of the evening, several one-minute videos were shown featuring beneficiaries of the work of these projects.
Zev Krengel, past president of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, delivered a keynote address, saying he was a “passionate South African”, and speaking about the many positive attributes of South African society, such as the warmth and kindness of its people, which contrasts with the anger being expressed in politics these days.
Standard Bank CEO Ben Kruger announced his bank’s sponsorship of R1,8 million and concluded his address by saying how impressed he was with the important work of Chabad House Johannesburg. He made a commitment on behalf of Standard Bank for another three years.
Michael Whitfield, CEO of Nissan South Africa, which was the original sponsor of Miracle Drive when it started, committed his company for future sponsorship. Other sponsors who made commitments for the future are Cruz Vodka and Chivas, Momentum, Atlas Finance, amongst others.
Rabbi David Masinter, director of Chabad House/Miracle Drive, showed a video clip of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, in which he said that each person as an individual has the power, ability and strength to turn the world upside down and make it more positive.
He highlighted the innovative and successful Ark – Acts of Random Kindness -programme, which is a comprehensive project aimed at the full range of people from children through to seniors, and at every sector of the community.
Its objective is to increase acts of goodness and kindness in the world, which is what the Rebbe conveyed to a CNN reporter when he was asked what his message to the world is.
The highlight of the evening was an anonymous donor committing to matching donations of up to R18 million for the Goodness and Kindness museum which is slated to be built in the Sandton CBD.
