An evening with the stars raises R2m for vulnerable children in SA

Wealth management specialists Citadel hosted a successful charity auction with singer Ronan Keating and golf legend Gary Player in Cape Town

11 March 2022 - 13:53
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Ronan and Storm Keating walk the black carpet at the Citadel charity auction, where R2m was raised for sick and vulnerable children is SA.
Ronan and Storm Keating walk the black carpet at the Citadel charity auction, where R2m was raised for sick and vulnerable children is SA.
Image: Zoon Cronje

Thanks to international singing sensation Ronan Keating, retired championship golfer Gary Player and wealth management specialists Citadel, an impressive R2m has been raised for vulnerable and sick children in SA. 

During the recent 'A Night with Ronan Keating' charity auction at the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town’s Silo district, the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital’s oncology unit and the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School in Johannesburg were named as beneficiaries. The proceeds will be distributed via the Citadel Philanthropy Foundation. 

This annual fundraising event has raised about R5m since 2018.  

Citadel CEO Andrew Möller opened the evening with a phrase that set the tone. “It is in giving that we receive.” And auction guests gave generously, outperforming all expectations. 

The auction was chaired by comedian Nik Rabinowitz, who used his fusion of agile wit and comedic energy to lead the proceedings. The highest closing bids were for sporting events and live music experiences — Ed Sheeran concert tickets and attending the 150th Open Championship were among these bids. 

Keating was returning to the event in person, after his virtual attendance last year. “I’ve missed the mountain. You guys see it each day. But I haven’t for two years. It’s so good to be back in Cape Town,” he said. 

Though some of the evening’s guests might have enjoyed varying success on the golf course earlier in the day, all of them benefited from the presence of golf legend Player, including Keating.

I told myself one day when I’m successful – not if, but when – I will contribute to society, and that is the great joy that I continue to have. What greater joy than changing lives
Golf legend Gary Player

“Everyone got their putt rear and swing analysed. Gary is such a legend,” Keating said. 

The singer entertained guests with a collection of his hit singles, but was nearly flummoxed when offering a request to Player. The golfing icon asked for Dolly Parton's Islands in the Stream — instead of one of Keating’s chart-toppers. 

As the Irishman sang his first ever attempt of the 1983 hit with aplomb, Player showed his uncanny athleticism and grooved on the dance floor. 

The evening reached a poignant point when Keating and Player reflected on how cancer had shadowed their lives.

Keating lost his mother at a comparatively young age. “My mother died at 51, of one of the most curable cancers, because there wasn’t a willingness to embrace early detection,” he said. 

Last year, cancer took Player’s wife of 64 years, Vivienne. It was the couple who founded the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School in 1990. 

Credited for establishing new standards for fitness in professional sport, decades before personal trainers, biokinetics and clean diets were commonplace, Player was unambiguous in his vision for longevity. 

“I’m 86 years old and the older I get, the more grateful I am. We are losing too many people to diabetes and cancer,” he said.

As SA’s sportsman of the century, Player says that we all have a debt to repay to society. 

“I told myself one day when I’m successful — not if, but when — I will contribute to society, and that is the great joy that I continue to have. What greater joy than changing lives,” he said. 

This article was paid for by Citadel. 


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