Add Hope, on behalf of 137 NGOs all over South Africa, is expressing a huge message of thanks to all South Africans who rose to the Hope against Hunger challenge for World Hunger Day and donated over R4.8 million in May. Add Hope will be able to feed more than 120 000 children through sustainable feeding schemes at these organisations, supported by Add Hope.

KFC Africa Public Affairs Director, Thabisa Mkhwanazi, says, “We’re so happy that we reached/exceeded our target and we thank you, South Africa, for every donation. They all add up to help children to learn, grow and thrive.  World Hunger Day is an opportunity to focus attention on the major hunger related issues we have in South Africa and to let people know that they can really make a difference. The success of the Hope against Hunger Challenge shows that if we all pull together, our contributions add up to have a major impact.“

The Add Hope numbers tell a powerful story and show how Add Hope has been able to go from feeding 40 000 children in 2009, to over 120 000 today through combining donations from customers with KFC’s own corporate social responsibility contributions. “Add Hope has raised over R387 million in customer donations and KFC contributions combined since 2009, with the total donated increasing every year. Customers donated R39 million in 2016, and the KFC contribution, based on a percentage of profits, pushed this to R64 million donated in total. Our target for customer donations in 2017 is R43m and we hope to be able to reach this to feed even more children.”

This World Hunger Day, Add Hope shared virtual reality experiences filmed at NGOs for the first time online and in restaurants to inspire South Africans to join the Hope against Hunger Challenge. The Hope Squad, a group of young people whose own lives have been changed by Add Hope, visited KFC restaurants and immersed delighted customers in virtual reality 360* experiences made at some of the organisations that Add Hope partners with around the country, including JAM, Boys & Girls Clubs of South Africa and Africa Food for Thought.

Hope Squad member Tebogo Mabye found a safe haven at Add Hope partner MES when growing up in Hillbrow. Tebogo now works for MES as a co-ordinator of the youth enrichment Programme. “It’s been a privilege to be part of the Hope Squad and to see how people respond to seeing the children they are helping. I am living evidence of the great impact that the security of having a meal every school day has on young bodies and minds, and how it can turn lives around. I want to share this with people and challenge them to do more.”

A number of celebrities took to social media and the airwaves to lend their voices to the Hope against Hunger Challenge after visiting Afrika Tikkun in Alexandra to get a first-hand experience of the incredible impact the donations have on young lives. Personalities including Proverb, Jonathan Boynton Lee, Dr Alex Smile, Carmel Fisher, Nicole Da Silva, DJ Sabby, Bokang Montjane Tshabalala, Danine Naidoo and newly appointed Add Hope ambassador, actor Sthembiso Khoza, donated to help feed over 120 000 children around the country, challenging others to do the same. The group then visited nearby beneficiary Afrika Tikkun at its Phutadijaba centre in Alexandra to experience the impact of Add Hope for themselves. 

“Too many children are going to bed hungry and going to school hungry. We need to all be part of the fight against hunger so that we can turn things around for these children and give them a better start in life,” said Sthembiso Khoza. “Add Hope is a simple way to make a difference and I appreciate opportunities like these to add some hope in the midst of our busy lives.”

Nicole da Silva, 5FM DJ, said, “What a heart-warming and beautiful day spending some time at Afrika Tikkun to see how Add Hope benefits schools and children. Children can’t learn on empty stomachs.”

Mkhwanazi says, “The key to the success of Add Hope is bringing our customers, our team members and our beneficiaries together behind the common cause of fighting hunger. Please remember that you can Add Hope all year round and help us to make a fundamental difference to the lives of millions of children in the country.”

To find out more about Add Hope, visit www.addhope.co.za

• #AddHope
• Add Hope and Africa Food for Thought 360* video
• Add Hope and JAM 360* video
• Add Hope and Boys & Girls Clubs of South Africa 360* video

ENDS

Photography and further information: Add Hope World Hunger Day 2017 Media Pack 

About Add Hope
Add Hope, a powerful initiative that sees KFC customers and staff unite in the fight against hunger, has now reached the milestone of feeding 120 000 children around the country nutritious meals, every day, through supporting sustainable feeding programmes at a growing list of 137 beneficiary organisations. 

Add Hope raises money through customer donations added at the till or on the Add Hope website, as well as donating a percentage of KFC profits as its own Corporate Social Responsibility contribution. In 2016, Add Hope raised R39 million, with every cent of customer R2 donations going towards feeding children. Over the past seven years, Add Hope has raised just over R387 million.

About KFC
KFC is part of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with more than 36,000 restaurants in more than 117 countries and 1.4 million company and franchise associates. Yum! is ranked #214 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues of more than $12 billion in 2011.  KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain, specialising and famous for its Original Recipe®.  The secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices was first developed in 1940 and the same recipe is still used across the world today.

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