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The Great Optimist Race will be boasting an inspiring adaptive sailing team for the first time this year and they are all excited to take on this popular boat race.…
The courage and excitement of Reverent Vernon Bosch and the children from Heideveld Baptist Church, inspired the skippers that were practicing for the Great Optimist Race. The aim of the…
Girl Power!! The Shooting Stars traded in their netball for a rope and a dinghy on Saturday, 5th of August. We had so much fun and looked glamourous while doing…
A special group of 10 lovely little souls arrived to take on some sailing therapy! We had the best day together.We are lucky to work with such organisations.Once the Sailing…
A winters day spent right! On the canal with 8 excited and brilliant children from The Home of Hope! Our first group was the littler children from Home of Hope and…
On behalf of our Home of Hope Family we would like to say a HUGE thank you to The Little Optimist Sailing Academy for inviting our children to an outing…
A winters day spent right! On the canal with 8 excited and brilliant children from The Home of Hope! Our first group was the littler children from Home of Hope and…
Astra Special School – under construction The Little Optimist Trusts BIG project for 2022 is the refurbishment of Astra Special School Dormitories – bedrooms and bathrooms! Italtile and Italtile Foundation…
Durbanville Children’s Home embarked on the huge task of refurbishing their bathrooms. With a very kind donation of R50 000.00 from Italtile Foundation, they were able to get the process started.…
5 wheel chairs and 7 special needs children arrived from Astra to learn all about sailing!BLOWING little minds❤️#astraspecialschool kids got to experience a day of magic and magnificent moments yesterday.❤️These beautiful…
A group of gorgeous little ones from the Home of Hope arrived this past Saturday to learn all about sailing, ropes, and get a chance to go to the Aquarium. We…
This year HIIT Fitness had a collection drive for Marsh Memorial Home They collected clothing, toiletries and loads of yummy Easter eggs for the kids. Marsh Memorial officially opened their…
10 excited children arrived at our Sailing academy early on 23 April ready to learn how to sail! We spent some time in the classroom learning some techniques and all…
On a perfect Saturday morning, 10 excited students arrived from the 9 Miles project!We spent the day together learning how to tie knots, ocean cleanliness and how to protect the…
https://youtu.be/V3Wwjf9wuTo
The Little Optimist Sailing Academy in Cape Town recently received close to R500 000 from the Paris 2024 Olympics. The charity is the only one worldwide that offers sailing therapy to…
The Little Optimist Sailing Academy @ Battery Park V&A Waterfront. The celebrities and boating and sailing legends rolled in to celebrate this amazing milestone and the first of its kind in…
Astra School is very close to our hearts for many reasons! On 15 March 2022 10 excited learners arrived for their Sailing Therapy and Aquarium experience! The day was filled…
Greg Bertish is an inspiration to all of us at Italtile; a Multiple Heart Surgery Survivor, Big Wave Surfer, Ocean Activist, SA Champion Lifesaver and Stand Up Paddle Boarder. But he will tell you that his greatest joy is The Little Optimist Trust – Italtile’s chosen CSI partner – where he and his inspirational teams help to keep hope afloat for some of South Africa’s most at-risk children. Sick, poor, frail or differently abled, every child touched by the programme learns skill sets that empower them to survive and thrive, and become Little Optimists. Although much of the Trust’s work happens in the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and in township outreach events, some of the programme is run on the water, in the brave little boats that gave the Trust its name. An annual race event helps raise awareness and much-needed funds, and Italtile’s own Optimist sets sail at every event!
The Little Optimist Sailing Academy will soon be launched at the popular V&A Waterfront. The academy is a flagship programme of the Little Optimist Trust, which aims to inspire children…
On the 17th November a group of Grade 3 learners from Constantia Primary could not wait for the home time bell to ring, as they were super excited for the…
On Tuesday the 23rd of November, The Little Optimist hosted one of their Inspiration Days at Constantia Primary. These days are intended to inspire kids to survive and thrive. It…
Despite a wet and chilly start to our Sailing Therapy Day on the 16th October 2021, it turned out to be a beautiful day full of sailing, learning, smiles, laughs,…
As the clock struck 9am on the 9th of October 2021, the Excellence Team arrived at Holy Cross, Children's Home ready for Phase 1 of our project, full of energy,…
Its installation week at Luntu Educare in Philippi. Spotlight Joinery has been hard at work getting the cabinetry fitted and ready for the next phase. Next up - Infin8 will…
For the month of August HIIT Fitness did a Sanitary Towel Drive for St Michael’s Children’s Home for girls. The home houses 25 girls between the ages of 13 –…
Bishop Lavis Paradise was lovingly run by Mrs Brikkels for over 20 years. She ran a weekly feeding scheme for children in the surrounding community. As Mrs Brikkels is well…
Last year a terrible fire destroyed the girls housing at Holy Cross Children’s home. Since the fire the girls have been housed in the Therapy Centre house on the property.…
Luntu Educare’s needs were brought to our attention by Gina Leinberger – who has been working to improve Luntu Educare along with SAEP.The Little Optimist Trust together with our prodfuct…
“I had the privilege to visit a small rural town in the Transkei, South Africa called Malungeni. I got to meet this champion Onwaba. What a sweet, joyful, full of…
On Thursday 15 July, the children of Redhill enjoyed a visit from Greg and listened to his story ”The Little Optimist”. They really enjoyed the opportunity to hear the inspirational…
What is it about these Bertish brothers? They spend half their lives trying to kill themselves and the other half saving the world. Or so it seems to us lesser…
Thank you so much for the books! The children enjoyed the time spent with Greg and JP on Monday and we started distributing the other books to our reading clubs…
Dear Little Optimist Team Anisha and her family are overwhelmed by the generosity of the HIIT fitness gym team. They send their grateful thanks. This is a fantastic donation and…
As I read this beautiful illustrated book I had goosebumps as I followed the journey and challenges of the little Optimist. Our children will be enthralled by this creative book…
Dutch exhibition group METSTRADE has chosen Cape Town charity campaigner Greg Bertish and his team at the Little Optimist Trust as the 2019 recipient of the DAME global charity award.…
“Little Dewayne Pieters’s face lit up as the shinny medal was placed around his neck.” The Harfield Harriers runners and the little Optimist team visited the Maitland Orthopaedic Hospital on…
Hi GregYou did a talk at my daughter’s school yesterday and she couldn’t stop talking about it yesterday afternoon!Thanks for the difference you are making!Irene Van Schalkwyk
Charity Sailing Day Report With a light breeze and plenty of sunshine, The Little Optimist was in perfect condition to meet our 30 special guests and introduce them to the magic of sailing.
Early March 2019 The Little Optimist Trust completed a Fantastic East Coast Roadshow, in partnership with the NSRI. This fundraising trip raised more than R35 000 for the NSRI and our…