Send Bright Stars Drum Majorettes to Nationals!

Our names are Catherine and Lynn, and we are fundraising on behalf of the Bright Stars Drum Majorettes, a majorettes team based in Snake Park, Soweto and run in part by our dear friends Stho and Xolani. On our trip to Johannesburg this year, the team warmly welcomed us to their home with a full parade and dance routine, delicious lunch, and even taught us some moves of our own.

They are currently raising funds to bring the team to the National Championships in Cape Town next month, and we’d like to return some of their generosity by helping them reach their goal!

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WHO ARE THE BRIGHT STARS DRUM MAJORETTES?

Seeing the community’s youth placed at risk with rising teen pregnancy rates, crime, access to drugs/alcohol, and difficult environments, a group of women in Snake Park started the team to lift up the children of their community instead. Bright Stars was established as a non-profit organization in 2017 and registered in 2019. Through the core majorettes program, Bright Stars cultivates a space that values respect, love, discipline, teamwork and trust and allows the youth to direct their focus on play, dance, and creativity. Within the majorettes program, they aim to create an inclusive environment to show that it is a sport for everyone — regardless of gender, race, or background — and hope to inspire more majorette organizations in other local schools and townships. Currently, the team includes 22 children (girls and a growing number of boys) from Snake Park between the ages of 5 and 15.

Through their participation, the youth are mentored by the organizers with individualized attention and an open-door policy, build self-esteem and self-respect, step into leadership roles, and have a chance to travel outside the township for competitions to gain new experiences. In addition to daily practice sessions and competitions, Bright Stars offers a variety of services to their community including meals before practices, programs in drama and dance, camps while school is closed, and CHOMMIE MONDAY — a weekly time for educational talks (on safety, hygiene, family matters, etc.), stories, sharing and bonding.

Since its start and through its own fundraising efforts, Bright Stars has grown from using broomsticks as maces and bedding sheets as flags to a team with small sets of professional equipment and beautiful uniforms (sewn by Xolani’s wonderful mom!). Affiliated with FDDCMSA and the only non-profit organization among mostly school teams, Bright Stars took part in their first-ever competitions in 2021. They took the team to Bloemfontein for Nationals without any official sponsorship beyond their own local fundraising and took home 4 trophies, but the opportunity for the trip itself was one of the most memorable experiences for the Bright Stars. In October 2022, they performed at the opening of the Kasi World Cup and organizers loved their performance so much that they were asked to return to close the tournament the following month.

RAISING FUNDS FOR BRIGHT STARS’ NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TRIP TO CAPE TOWN

This year, Bright Stars are again participating in FDDC competitions. In the team’s two competitions so far, they have won top in 6 categories and currently qualify to go to the National Championships in Cape Town in July 2023.

In order to travel with the full team, Brights Stars is seeking funds to cover a week of expenses for the group of 22 children including transportation fees, food and accommodation. To secure their place in the competition, funds must be raised and the FDDC notified by a deadline of June 26.

The estimated cost of the trip comes to R62,000, so we have set a goal of reaching $4,000 USD (or approximately R75,700) to cover expenses plus additional platform and transfer fees. Any funds unused on the trip or raised beyond their goal will go directly to Bright Stars for general operating funds to support all their work and programming.