Skydive For Rhinos Event - 17 & 18 November 2012

[velocity]

Hi All

The next Skydive for Rhinos event happens on the weekend of 17th / 18th November 2012 at Rustenburg and I have deceided to put myself in your shoes and HORROR SHOCK etc go on the FRONT of one of my fellow Tandem Instructors for the Rhino cause on that weekend. If you know me you will also know that I kind of dont like being told what to do or not being in control but what the heck, lets do it :D

If you wish to jump yourself then great and please go to http://www.skydive4rhinos.org to see how to do it , otherwise I challenge each one of my many pilot and flying friends to make a donation to the Skydive for Rhinos cause to force me onto the front seat

So if you wish to see me k*k myself up front then message me here, email graham@aerialfx.co.za or call (074) 198 0891 for details on how to make a difference & I promise that even on the front I will be doing something different on the day - watch this space...

Blue Skies V

to the incredible support, and by popular demand…

What: A Sixth ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ 2012 Event
When: 17th and 18th November
Where: SkyDive Rustenburg (+/- 110km from JHB, +/-100km from PTA)

How: Tandem ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’
email Micah@ProjectAfrica.com - to register, start raising funds, and participate

Sport Skydivers
email SkyDive.Rustenburg@gmail.com - to pre-manifest, and be part of the event

Aircraft: Atlas Angel to 11 000ft, ok maybe 12 000ft!

We also have a couple of surprises happening at this event that we cant tell you about just yet!

FaceBook Event - http://www.facebook.com/events/292205140894024

== Campaign News ==
Surpassing last years shocking record high of 448 Rhinos poached in South Africa, 463 South African Rhinos have been lost to poaching in 2012 (as at 18th October). And the intensity of the poaching is increasing.

The ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ 2012 campaign set a target of 448 participants, and R10 Million to be raised.

So far 384 Ordinary South Africans have taken a stand, raised awareness, raised funds, and have Skydived for Rhinos at one of five events across five provinces over a period of two months.

So far R6.5 million has been raised for strategic Rhino anti-poaching efforts in South Africa.

The ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ 2012 Campaign has grown into arguably the largest and most successful public fund raising and awareness campaign for South Africa’s endangered Rhinos, and is the largest concerted effort for a good cause in South African Skydiving History.

This sixth ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ 2012 event will also see a Candlelight Ceremony held in remembrance of the Rhinos killed by poaching syndicates whilst we’ve been hard at work raising funds for their survival.

View the latest campaign newsletter here -
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/76e0e51d56 ... r_2012.pdf

== Funds Raised ==
Funds raised as a result of this campaign are already being put into action on-the-ground at the front-line of the Rhino poaching crisis.

Already the campaign has assisted with equipping specialist anti-poaching teams, and with the securing and funding of two light aircraft for anti-poaching aerial surveilance work.

== Participants To Date ==
Numerous public figures, sporting stars, actors, actresses, models, television and radio personalities, presenters, schools, colleges, universities, pensioners, archaeologists, producers, DJs, artists, conservationists, Company Directors and CEOs have participated in the ‘Skydive for Rhinos’ campaign to date - the youngest participant 13, and the oldest 77 years.

Three young men have even skydived naked for the cause.

Eleven people have made more than one Tandem ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ as part of the campaign.

‘Father of FreeFly’ Olav Zipser, one of the most acomplished skydivers in the world, came on board as an International ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ Ambassador.

Numerous Businesses and Corporates have participated en-mass using it as a socially responsible team building opportunity, that is also tax deductible!

== Media Exposure and Awareness ==
The campaign has been featured in (and often on the front page of) local, provincial, and national newspapers (including the front page of the Sunday Times); in various magazines; in on-line blogs, websites, and e-newsletters; on numerous local, and several national radio stations; on national television; and live on SABC Morning / Weekend Live when SABC Sports presenter Vaylen Kirtley made a Tandem ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ on World Rhino Day.

== Seriously ==
· An attack on one of South Africa's Big Five is an attack on South Africa itself.
· This is a serious crime against OUR wildlife: it is theft on a grand scale.
· It is our duty to preserve OUR wildlife for OUR future generations.
· Protecting OUR Rhinos at the front-line of attack requires funding and resources.
· Time is not on our side, and failure is not an option, because extinction is forever.
· Whilst there are still Rhinos in the wild, there is still hope.

== Participate, Sponsor, Donate, Support, Contribute, Win ==
== Individuals, Celebrities, Groups, Sponsors, Corporates ==

So you think you would never jump out of an aircraft?
Can you believe that the future of one of OUR Big Five is in YOUR hands?

The African Conservation Trust continues to call on Ordinary South Africans to do something Extraordinary by raising awareness, raising funds, and making a Tandem ‘Skydive for Rhinos’ at the sixth ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ 2012 event on the 10th and 11th November at SkyDive Rustenburg.

== Be a Rhino Ambassador ==
Register with ACT, get your sponsorship form, raise a minimum of R 5 000 (includes the cost of R1 600 to tandem skydive, and donation to ACT Rhino Fund), and make a Tandem ‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ from at least 10 000ft in honour of one of South Africa's poached Rhinos, and help save OUR remaining Rhinos.

A team of dedicated, professional tandem masters are in place to take you for the ride of your life at SkyDive Rustenburg - a Parachute Association of South Africa approved Drop Zone.

== Get your registration form and start raising awareness and funds NOW ==
== Email micah@projectafrica.com to register ==

== African Conservation Trust ==
As a section 18a company, donations are tax deductible - Donation Certificates can be provided on request.
The African Conservation Trust is a 12 year established KZN-based conservation charity with an historical footprint of working throughout Southern Africa. ACT is a registered Trust (IT 2174/00); a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO 030-243); a SARS-registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO 930014758); a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (NG/25190); and a founder member of Project Rhino KZN.

‘SkyDive for Rhinos’ is an African Conservation Trust initiative with the objective of raising R10 Million for on-the-ground, verifiable Rhino Conservation and Anti-Poaching Efforts in South Africa.

Funds raised will be utilised for training and equipping rhino anti-poaching units (APUs), aerial surveillance and support, and community intervention programs. These will be verifiable, urgently needed interventions and funds will be distributed nationally to where support is most needed.

100% of funds raised go into the ACT Rhino Fund, a dedicated bank account.

Every Rand raised is accounted for and no charges or administration fees are being deducted from funds raised.

== More Info and Links ==
Campaign Newsletter (well worth a read)
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/76e0e51d56 ... r_2012.pdf

Super Bang Bang Video of just a small part of the actual Skydiving for Rhinos that has been occuring as part of the campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4smEcyuiVc

And take a look at this animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoRs66lX4cI

Thanks for the support.
Please participate, and encourage others to participate.
Wild and Horny… Lets keep them that way!

Mike Rumble
'SkyDive for Rhinos' National Coordinator
African Conservation Trust Volunteer
Rhino Ambassador
Mike@Imagineering.co.za
+27 82 926 3591

Follow us online:
http://www.Skydive4Rhinos.org
http://www.facebook.com/skydiveforrhinos
http://www.twitter.com/@RhinoSkydiver
http://www.givengain.com/cause/3213/projects/10849/
http://www.projectafrica.com

Contact ACT’s Skydive for Rhinos team:
Sheelagh Antrobus: funding@projectafrica.com
Micah van Schalkwyk: micah@projectafrica.com

Tel: +27 (0)33 342 2844
369 Chief Albert Luthuli Road Pietermaritzburg

This document compiled by Mike Rumble on 18th October 2012

Terms and conditions apply

[velocity]

BTW there is a givengain acc now set up to throw me out of a plane as a tandem pax in front and not in charge from the rear like I like...

so if you want to see that then every bit does help

http://www.givengain.com/activist/86218/projects/3844/

Cheers V

[velocity]

Media Release: Skydive for Rhinos finale, R6,5million raised to date

14 November 2012

For immediate release



The final event of the Skydive for Rhinos 2012 campaign takes place this Saturday in Rustenburg with a number of rhino experts taking part alongside a 78-year old grandmother and a naked skydiver who has single-handedly raised R50,000 for rhino anti-poaching efforts.



This year-long drive by the KZN-based African Conservation Trust to raise funds for four major national rhino anti-poaching strategies has already raised R6,5million by encouraging ‘ordinary South Africans to do something extraordinary for SA’s Rhinos’. To date, 384 people from all walks of life have jumped from 10,000ft as part of the campaign and this last event will take the figure well over the 400 mark.



Key members of the rhino conservation and anti-poaching community who will be participating on Saturday 17 November include Dr Michael Knight (Chairman of the SADC Rhino Management Group and South African representative on the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group), Dr Richard Emslie (Scientific Officer for the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group), Andrew Parker (CEO of Sabi Sands) and Elise Daffue (founder of StopRhinoPoaching.com). Joining them are the son and daughter of Pelham Jones, Chairman of the Private Rhino Owners Association and Rael Loon of the Wilderness Association.



The campaign’s oldest participant will be making her own sky-high statement against rhino poaching. “I’ll do whatever I can for the rhinos and skydiving has been on my ‘bucket list’ for years and years,” said 78-year old Edenvale resident June Brown. She will be taking the Golden Oldie prize away from the campaign’s two previous pensioner participants Rhoda Butler (77) and Digs Pascoe (76), who both participated in the KZN leg of the campaign.



Cape Town resident Steve Newman is travelling to Rustenburg for his second tandem skydive - minus his clothes. “I’d never skydived before and for my first effort on World Rhino Day, said that if I raised R10,000 for rhinos, I’d jump naked. I did and that’s how it came about,” he explained. Steve has become a passionate supporter of the campaign and has gone on to raise over R50,000 as well as attract national and international media interest. “I want to raise as much as I can and if taking my clothes off gets peoples’ attention on the rhino poaching crisis, then I’ll do it. 549 rhinos have been killed this year: that’s 549 reasons to jump out of plane naked.”



According to the campaign leader Sheelagh Antrobus, past participants have included TV celebrities, musicians, sports stars, corporate teams, staff from game reserves threatened by rhino poaching, university students, school teachers and pupils. “For me, the greatest success of this campaign has been the partnerships forged and the enormous number of extraordinary people who have united behind the plight of South Africa’s rhinos,” she said. “This extends far beyond the hundreds of who actually skydived for rhinos, to the thousands of other concerned people who have donated to the campaign and shown their support in so many different ways.”



Of the R6,5million raised by Skydive for Rhinos so far, R3,1million has been cash donations and a further R3,4 million has been pledged through corporate sponsorships and partnerships for aerial surveillance, advanced training for game reserve staff, provision of equipment for rhino anti-poaching units (APUs) and community intervention programmes. The campaign has already supported the establishment of two aerial surveillance projects in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape valued at over R1,5 million, a further R1,1million is earmarked for advanced training for game reserve staff in hard-hit regions throughout South Africa and community intervention projects, and half a million Rand is being spent on APU equipment. Pledged funds and other sponsorships will also be spent on these priority areas as they come in over the next 6-12 months, and the campaign will continue to accept donations and seek additional funding partnerships with the aim of raising R10million.



The 2012 Skydive for Rhinos campaign has grown into arguably the largest public fundraising and awareness campaign for South Africa’s endangered rhinos, and is the largest concerted effort for a good cause in South Africa’s skydiving history.



ENDS



For more details, stunning, exclusive photographs of Skydive for Rhinos participants in mid-air and additional quotes, please contact Sheelagh Antrobus via return email or on the telephone numbers below.



Sheelagh Antrobus | Skydive for Rhinos 2012 R10million campaign | Project Rhino KZN Secretariat

Tel: 033-342 2844 | Cell: 082-4327466

Websites: www.projectafrica.com | www.skydive4rhinos.org | www.projectrhinokzn.org

Twitter: @ACTsafrica | @RhinoSkydiver

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ACTsafrica |www.facebook.com/skydiveforrhinos |www.facebook.com/projectrhinokzn.