High Heels 4 Horns

At the beginning of this year, the exciting beauty pageant, Miss Summer Heat took place around the country. 27 girls were chosen as Miss Summer Heat queens – one in each of three age categories in each province of South Africa. These provincial queens have been invited to the national finals in September, where each will represent her province against girls from every province in South Africa.

Each Miss Summer Heat queen is very involved in charity work, both fundraising and awareness projects, in her own province and nationwide.

Miss Summer Heat 2011 Charity Initiative
The main focus of Miss Summer Heat is charity. This year Miss Summer Heat titleholders will be working together on the most exciting charity awareness and fundraiser campaign to hit the country. Aimed at raising funds and awareness for Rhino Conservation, the organisers and owners of the pageant have conceptualised a project called High Heels 4 Horns, a fundraising fun walk which, after its very successful inception last year, has now become an annual event. The Miss Summer Heat titleholders are arranging a High Heels 4 Horns fun walk in each province, to raise funds and awareness for Rhino conservation and the threat these gorgeous animals are under due to poaching. The fun walk will appeal to all ages and, as the organisers are beauty pageant winners, it has to be done in high heels.

Latest figures show that Rhinos are being poached at more than one a day so far this year! SHOCKING!!
The alarming fact is that South Africa had already lost over 210 rhinos to poaching in 2012. At the current rate, over 600 rhinos will have been brutally killed by the end of the year. Rhino poaching figures are on the increase with over 450 savagely slaughtered in 2011 compared to 330 killed in 2010, 122 killed in 2009 and 83 killed in 2008. If this killing spree is allowed to continue unabated, rhinos will be extinct during our generation – and quite possibly in the next 5 years. What a sad heritage to leave for future generations.

The Miss Summer Heat titleholders around the country have collectively put their stiletto heeled foot down and decided that something must be done to raise awareness of the plight of the Rhino.

The girls’ involvement
At each High Heels 4 Horns event, apart from spreading awareness, arranging funding and securing sponsorship and garnering entrants for the walk, the girls are tasked to arrange entertainment, a kiddies play area and loads of things for the entire family to do during the day, with special appearances by various celebrities during the day. The highlight of the day, apart from the walk is a talk by selected experts in the field of conservation on why conservation is important, how poaching affects us and how we can assist – as an individual or a community.

As the owners of the pageant and to assist the girls in organizing an event of this magnitude, VNG, a nationwide events organising company, will be working closely with the titleholders and will assist them with every aspect of the organization and will also be present at each event. The Miss Summer Heat queens will be working on a High Heels 4 Horns event in your Province.

Any funds raised will be collected together by the Miss Summer Heat office, and once the last High Heels 4 Horns event is completed, all funds raised through this initiative will be handed over to Mission Rhino, a non-profit organisation (Registration number 1040-2010) based in South Africa dedicated to preserving both the black and white African Rhino. A representative from Mission Rhino will be present at each province High Heels 4 Horns fun walk and you are welcome to meet with them to chat about the organisation or any further assistance you may wish to give them.

Should you need any further information please don’t hesitate to contact me on 073 433 6315

Kind regards
Gillian Habib
VNG Events
e-mail: gillian@vngevents.co.za