COPPERSTONE launched its first annual SA Bachelor & Bachelorette of the Year in 2011. The competition was started to find South Africa’s most eligible bachelor or bachelorette, someone who encompasses brains, beauty, entrepreneurship and the spirit of Ubuntu – a competition where single individuals who want to bring about change can make a difference and create awareness through charity or community work.
6 Years later, in 2016, we wanted the competition to evolve into one where everyone who wants to bring about change were eligible to enter. To do that, a name-change was needed. The SA Bachelor & Bachelorette winners are all compassionate, humane, unselfish, altruistic, generous, kind, sympathetic, charitable, philanthropic, public-spirited, socially concerned and seeking to promote human welfare. The competition’s new name encompassed all these qualities; the HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR competition.
During the 8 past years of the SA Bachelor & Bachelorette and HUMANITARIAN competitions, we raised awareness, products and services as well as funds in excess of R900 000 for various charities. Some of the NGO’s supported thus far include:
CANSA (The Cancer Association of South Africa)
Jacaranda Children’s Home
Louis Botha Children’s Home
SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
Siyazigabisa Children’s Home
CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation
Ripple Reading
Rooihuiskraal Library
Wespoort NG Church
Imizamo Yethu Community Centre
CANSA TLC Nicus Lodge
Reach for a Dream
Amadea Safe House
Foodbank SA
The Princess Project
Peas in a Pod
Paratus Primary School
We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished with these competitions since 2011. Thousands of entries, hundreds of finalists, more than 20 judges, more than 150 charity events, hundreds of media publications, television coverage, live-streaming at our Gala events and 14 winners later, we made the decision to end the competition on a high note.
To remain fresh and current we decided to bring our loyal COPPERSTONE audiences a new venture through COPPERSTONE House, to expand the very popular Talent Search SA competition and to start a brand new competition called THE SEARCH, which will launch in May 2019.
Our current HUMANITARIAN of the Year, Erica Pienaar, a founding member of the Princess Project, will continue her charity and humanitarian work during her reign, and will, like most of our previous winners, remain part of the COPPERSTONE family.
We can’t express our gratitude enough to each and every person who made this competition possible and for allowing us to bring about change. Thanks to every contestant, judge, sponsor, celebrity, member of the press, performer, MC and all our past winners for your support and your humanitarianism. Watching past contestants and winners carrying on with their humanitarian work, is the rock we wanted to cast to create a ripple in the lives of people less fortunate, disabled, ill, and those who are bullied, abused and neglected.
Being a company built out of the desire to bring about change, we will also continue to incorporate the charity campaigns and annual charity drives we started through the HUMANITARIAN competition through our other competitions and ventures. We will continue to strive for our humanitarian work to cause a ripple effect that impacts the lives of many families and vulnerable populations, starting with one person at a time.
We’re looking forward to keeping our audiences entertained for many years to come and to keep delivering imaginative, thought-provoking and out-of-the-box events that surprise and delight.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. Our final words of gratitude goes to all our past winners: THANK YOU! We are extremely proud of what you have achieved and the difference you’re still making in the lives of others. See you at our next charity event!
COPPERSTONE 