Dr Ivan Schewitz, chairman of Rockies, gives a R10 000 cheque to Jenny Grey, CEO of the Johannesburg Zoo

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Road runners raise funds for the zoo The Joburg Zoo is R10 000 richer, thanks to the support of Rocky Road Runners. The club handed over a cheque, and others to the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Rookies Trust for Disabled Athletes. October 12, 2006 By Thabang Mokoka ROCKY Road Runners has again shown its support of the Joburg Zoo, this time in the name of environmental education. The runners club presented a cheque of R10 000 to the zoo on Wednesday, 11 October. It previously adopted the zoo's gorilla, Makoko. According to the Rocky Road Runners chairman, Ivan Schewitz, the group was privileged to be associated with the Johannesburg Zoo and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). "Environmental education aims to develop an environmentally literate citizenry that is aware, knowledgeable, skilled, dedicated and committed to work individually and collectively, to actively promote, improve and sustain the quality of the environment on behalf of the present and future generations." Schewitz emphasised that the zoo was not merely a collection of beautiful animals, "although it is that", he said. "It is an institution to teach and encourage creating a sustainable future." This was why the runners were supporting it. Without a sustainable future for all natural areas, humanity's existence was threatened. "We support the work of the zoo and the EWT because by your educational efforts you change the ethos [of the population] towards the environment," he said. Rocky Road Runners also presented two other cheques to EWT and the Rookies Trust for Disabled Athletes. EWT received R2 500 and the Rookies Trust received R20 000. For the first time in its 30-year history, disabled athletes took part in the annual Rockies race, run last month. "The wheelchair race was extremely well received by the disabled community, with a number of encouraging emails. This will be repeated in the future," Schewitz said. In closing, he said, "We would like to appeal to big business to support the work of the zoo and the EWT." Jenny Grey, the zoo's chief executive, said it was a pleasure to host the Rocky Road Runners race at the zoo and she hoped to have a long term relationship with the club. "We really appreciate [Rocky Road Runners] bringing people to the zoo to appreciate the majestic scenery [here]." Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za