Throughout the 2007-08 Holiday season, MMI Charities sponsored a raffle to provide tuition for South African high school kids. In South Africa, there are many barriers for children seeking a high school education such as poverty, and loss of both parents requiring the child to be the child head of household.

Last year, 22,000 kids graduated from MATHS/high school at a higher grade level providing them with university entrance. Of the 22,000 MATHS graduates, only 700 were black. The South African government has been encouraging black empowerment initiatives that will hopefully enable financial independence but with this kind of a graduation rate, black youths will not be able to qualify for the professional career paths such as doctors, scientists, teachers, and engineers.

Tuition for one year of secondary school is R150 (approximately $25 U. S., the cost of one raffle ticket). The additional school costs include R150 ($25) for schoolbags and books and R100 ($15) for school uniforms. Thanks to the generosity of our franchisees, $3,550 was raised, enabling us to send 142 kids to one year of MATHS/high school.

Franchisees from all five Merrymeeting, Inc. (MMI) companies participated and were extremely generous. MMI has matched dollar for dollar all the monies raised by the franchisees. The Hollard Foundation, our South African partner will match all monies donated by MMI Charities. With the matching funds of MMI Charities and the Hollard Foundation, we will have raised a total of $14,200 which will allow us to provide additional funds for school bags and books and even uniforms for the children we are able to send to school.

Congratulations to John Ronk, owner of six Frontier Adjusters (a Merrymeeting, Inc. Subsidiary) offices in Illinois, who was announced the winner of the raffle for a week in a Hilton Head condo, sponsored by MMI Charities.