This Saturday, 20 April, sees the return of one of Cape Town’s most beloved outdoor-based fundraising events – The 2024 Cableway Charity Challenge.
In its 15th edition, the mass hiking event will be hosted by Table Mountain, challenging individuals, corporate teams and school groups to climb Platteklip Gorge as many times as they can between sunrise and sunset – all to raise funds for some very worthy causes.
Also read: Hiking Table Mountain: The ultimate trail guide
While some elite runners have broken world records at the Cableway Charity Challenge, the event is for anyone – whether you climb Platteklip Gorge once or a hundred times.
There’s no denying that Platteklip Gorge can be a gruelling ascent, with its seemingly endless winding stone steps and lack of shade. But views from the top are reward enough for everyone to have to give a go, not to mention the reward of knowing your huffing and puffing is making a world of difference for our local hero organisations.
Plus, all participants will get a free cable car descent after each climb, providing some much-needed respite between ascents, and a well-deserved chance to soak up the breathtaking panoramas of the Mother City – doesn’t sound half as bad now, does it?
The Cableway Charity Challenge is, after all, a fun, social event that caters to all outdoor enthusiasts, from elite runners to casual weekend adventurers, all for the sake of raising funds for its nominated charities.
Participants raise funds by getting their friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them on the Cableway Charity Challenge website. The mass hiking event has already raised a whopping R998 570 in pledges ahead of race day.
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The Cableway Charity Challenge will this year support these amazing causes:
Abalimi Bezekhaya
Abalimi Bezekhaya (meaning ‘Farmers of the Home’ in isiXhosa) is a non-profit urban farming organisation founded in 1982 that assists individuals from disadvantaged Cape Town communities by empowering township residents with organic farming skills for nutrition, food security and income generation.
Funda Kunye
Funda Kunye is a small NPO that aims to promote the holistic development and education of vulnerable young babies and children in the Hout Bay neighbourhoods of Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg by equipping caregivers with the necessary Early Childhood Development skills and resources.
Ndihluthi
The Ndihluthi feeding scheme provides ‘one-pot meals’ to underprivileged communities in Cape Town. What started as a school community service project quickly morphed into a lifeline for many communities where food security is a challenge.
Packing its formulated mixture of green split peas, flavoured soup powder and rice into a distribution pack, the Ndihluthu meal bag provides a nutritious meal for four people for under R15.
Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR)
Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) is a collective effort coordinated by the Emergency Medical Services in the Western Cape alongside several volunteer groups that provide the highest possible level of medical care and rescue efforts to wilderness-goers in need.
WSAR has assisted the Cableway Charity Challenge with emergency services on every challenge day since its inception. 10% of event proceeds are distributed to the rescue organisation each year.
Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS)
Like WSAR, Volunteer Wildfire Services is run entirely by volunteers and forms an integral part of the Western Cape’s response to wildfires since the organisation’s inception during the devastating fires that ravaged Cape Town in 1999/2000.
With a force of over 300 volunteers, VWS is the largest volunteer firefighting organisation in the country. For the first time this year, 10% of the event proceeds will be distributed to them.
Since the Cableway Charity Challenge’s inception, close to R15 million has been raised for 18 different beneficiaries across a variety of areas from education and health to environmental and leadership projects.
If you’re not up for trekking but would like to get involved, you can pledge your support for the 2024 Cableway Charity Challenge here.
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Also read:
Vote for Table Mountain as Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction