A record number of Stellenbosch University (SU) students, staff, and alumni participated in this year’s Cape Town Cycle Tour (CTCT) through the Move4Maties initiative.
This is according to Alwin Mabuza, the individual and regular giving fundraiser of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) at SU.
This year 80 SU-associated participants cycled as part of the Move4Maties initiative, compared with 60 in 2024, said Mabuza.
Move4Maties is a group that raises funds for causes that affect Stellenbosch University (SU) students, such as projects under SU’s Bridge the Gap annual fund, according to Alwin Mabuza, the individual and regular giving fundraiser of Development and Alumni Relations at SU. PHOTO: Danielle Schaafsma
Move4Maties is a group that raises funds for causes that affect SU students, such as projects under SU’s Bridge the Gap annual fund, and uses CTCT as one of its key annual fundraising events, according to Mabuza.
Starting with only a “handful” of people in 2018, Move4Maties has grown their main fundraising event to comprise 80 cyclists who are aiming to raise R100 000 this year, said Mabuza. He said that by 15 March they had only raised R85 000, but that people could still make donations until 31 March.
Where do the funds go?
What makes the Move4Maties unique is that participants can choose which cause they will be competing for, according to Adriaan van Wyk, a fifth-year BAccLLB student at SU and a cyclist who competed in CTCT for Move4Maties.
The funds raised with CTCT were through donations to the organisation itself and the cyclist’s own GivenGain donation pages, according to Mabuza. He also said that most of these funds were raised for Move4Food, a project that focuses on the issue of food security on the SU campus.
However, some of the participants cycled for other causes, such as Action4Inclusion, an initiative under SU’s Bridge the Gap annual fund, or the house fund of Dagbreek, an SU residence, said Mabuza.
Cycling for Move4Food
Move4Food distributes the funds raised by Move4Maties to SU students who need “emergency food relief”, said Mabuza.
Through the organisation, 220 students received food assistance in 2023, according to the 2024 Bridge the Gap annual fund impact report. Mabuza projected that in 2025, this number will rise to 250 assisted students.
Tendani Tshauambea, a BAHons (English) student at Stellenbosch University, participated in his second Cape Town Cycle Tour with Move4Maties on 9 March and has started training for his third race in 2026. “It’s not necessarily about your money as an alumni,” said Tshauambea. “It’s more about what time and skills [you can] share to better the lives of people who are coming [to the university] after you.” PHOTO: Danielle Schaafsma
“I think the most important thing is to, you know, give back,” said Tendani Tshauambea, a BAHons (English) student and a cyclist who completed his second CTCT for Move4Maties on 9 March. “You can find ways to contribute to your fellow Maties.”
At the time that Tshauambea spoke to SMF News, he had raised R1 509. His goal is R3 000, and he was optimistic that he would be able to raise the full amount by 31 March.