THREE selfless women who committed themselves to making a difference in the lives of others have raised R6000 to help people living in poverty.

The women, from Maitland, recently put together a spectacular fundraiser at St Joseph’s School to raise money for Gift of the Givers.

The night, filled with glitz, glamour and fun, raked in the cash for the organisation, known for its work in South Africa as well as abroad. They support those who have been left destitute by disasters and people living in poverty.

The idea for the gala event began when Rhona Andrews saw a news programme on TV about the organisation helping people in Somalia.

“It was such a touching story to see these people take the initiative to help. It was enough for me to decide to help them and I immediately contacted Gift of the Givers and told them what I wanted to do. They were thrilled. I roped in my whole family and plans were set in motion for the fundraiser,” she says.

Joslyn and Lee-Ann Mercury were swept up into the plan and worked around the clock to make the event a success.

“It felt good to do something for other people,” says Joslyn.

“We know that Gift of the Givers does excellent work and that the money raised would be for a good cause.”

Lee-Ann says she’s happy that the event was a success and that they could offer assistance to the humanitarians.

Andrews says they started planning the fundraiser in September last year.

“So many people came on board, wanting to help us. A lot of things we received were free and it made our job easy. Besides raising money, we also wanted to ensure that the people who attended had a good time.”

St Joseph’s School offered their school hall for free as well as their jazz and marimba bands. The Salsa Dance Studio also came on board.

The organisers would like to thank everybody, including Bruce’s Caterers, for their contribution in making the event a success.

Gawa Sayed, a manager at Gift of the Givers, says it was “fantastic” for the trio to think about helping others.

“It’s amazing that we have people in this world who pull together and want to make a difference. We were exhilarated when we heard what these women wanted to do and that they had thought of our organisation. We thank them for everything.”