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Leading Winelands restaurants get StreetSmart

StreetSmart SA, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the social integration and upliftment of street children, has expanded its horizons to include leading restaurants in the Stellenbosch and Paarl winelands, giving them the opportunity to plough back into the community.

 StreetSmart is well established in Cape Town and Franschhoek and has since December 2009 started in Stellenbosch with six restaurants on board. The new StreetSmart restaurants include Rust en Vrede, Wedgeview Country House & Spa, Overture, The Big Easy, Bodega and Jordan Restaurant. Johan Swanepoel and Nic Dupper of River Manor Boutique Hotel and Spa, are the driving force behind the Stellenbosch committee.

 "One of the great aspects of this program is that the money raised in Stellenbosch will be allocated to local street children charities. It is an easy, no-effort process for restaurants to run and diners feel good about helping out," said Nic.

 Another prestigious winelands restaurant, Glen Carlou, located outside Paarl also recently signed up with StreetSmart.

 “We are excited and delighted to witness the growth that StreetSmart SA is experiencing. Not only are we expanding in terms of restaurants and location, but we are reaching more street children who are in desperate need of help, shelter and education,” said Margi Biggs, Chairperson of StreetSmart SA.

 Participating StreetSmart restaurants raise funds by adding a R5 donation to each table’s bill.  This donation is voluntary and diners have the option to donate more, or not at all. All funds raised through restaurants go to the StreetSmart beneficiaries, who spend the funds on education, skills training and family reunification programs, helping street children to live a viable life in society. While StreetSmart is still in the process of evaluating potential beneficiary organisations in the winelands, all the funds raised in the area will go towards uplifting the lives of local street children thereby ensuring that every cent raised by winelands restaurants gets ploughed back into their community.

 StreetSmart was launched in Cape Town in 2005 under the patronage of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and has since raised more than R2 million through the 46 participating restaurants, including several restaurants in Franschhoek who signed on in 2008.

 Restaurants wishing to participate can log onto www.streetsmartsa.org.za, where easy-to-follow steps will be provided.