Casino Giant London Clubs International launches a nationwide bid 'A deal for Africa' a charitable campaign aimed at generating a range of goods for South African Townships.

On July 13, casino operator London Clubs International launched 'A Deal 4 Africa'. The campaign ran across all 10 clubs in a bid to collect a broad range of goods to be donated to townships – in the Gauteng Province, South Africa and this month staff worked together to sort through the multitude of donations from generous members of the public, customers and staff alike.

LCI worked closely with Portsmouth Premiership footballer and South Africa national captain Aaron Mokoena who grew up in Boipatong - a local township in Gauteng province. Aaron along with a host of his football hero friends championed the cause here in the UK.

With a ‘deck of cards’ being an iconic symbol of casinos across the world it was appropriate to use Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades to differentiate the collection categories:

Hearts represented clean second hand clothing for adults and children, especially warm clothing. Smart clothes such as suits and dresses will assist a young person seeking employment thus enhancing their future prospects. There is also huge demand for clean second hand underwear.

For Diamonds we collected children’s and adult reading books.

For Clubs we looked for sports kit and equipment this can include soccer boots, trainers, sports kit, footballs, tennis rackets cricket bats, South African kids love to play sport.

Finally Spades we collected Art and Craft materials such as paint, paper, crayons, drawing and writing materials, glue and fabrics any arts and crafts materials.

Each of LCI’s 10 clubs in the UK was challenged to fill 4 feet of a forty foot shipping container with goods in the four suits. Members of the public were encouraged to visit their local LCI casino and could choose between: London, Brighton, Southend, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham or Glasgow.

Everything donated has this month been sorted by our staff and will be shipped in a full forty foot container to one of LCI’s international venues - Emerald Casino Resort - in Gauteng where the Emerald Charitable Foundation will distribute the goods to the townships and to local charities in October.

Says Roy Ramm, Head of Compliance at London Clubs International: “London Clubs International is passionate in our role to support charitable issues both in our local communities and overseas. The Emerald Foundation was founded by one of our international casinos in South Africa and they have done an invaluable job fundraising for the townships since opening in 2001.

“ The UK public really embraced the appeal and went above and beyond the call of duty to make A Deal 4 Africa a success. We have collected over the course of the last 2 months a sea of materials that have since been sorted into labelled boxes ready for shipping. The donations will be put into the hands of the people who need them the most. We will be distributing the supplies directly to the children and needy within the townships and the clothes, sports goods, reading books and art material will make a great difference to their lives. By Christmas 2009 a huge number of people in Gauteng will benefit from our public's generosity.”

London Clubs was delighted to work with the national captain of South Africa and Portsmouth defender Aaron Mokoena over the last couple of months.

Says Aaron Mokoena: “ I am delighted to be involved in this initiative and know what a difference it will make to some of the communities in the Gauteng area. I commend LCI for developing this initiative and enjoyed working closely with them.”