SiGMA Foundation raises over €300,000 for charity in 3 years
As the philanthropic arm of SiGMA Group, the SiGMA Foundation is committed to supporting those who are most in need. 2022 has been an incredibly busy year, with the Foundation celebrating an incredible yield of funds raised for charity.
The SiGMA Foundation is the brainchild of Keith Marshall and SiGMA Group Founder Eman Pulis. It is in many ways SiGMA Group’s primary means of giving back to the community.
SiGMA philanthropy reaches an all-time high for 2022
Awards Nights Art Auctions
Malta Week 2022 has set the record for charity funds raised during its many Awards Nights. The festivities saw the selection of paintings sold for a total of €114,050. This sum was predominantly supplied by the Art Auction at the SiGMA Europe Awards Night on the 15th of November, which sold a record-breaking €91,000.
A further set of paintings were sold for €51,500 across two art auctions, one in Dubai and another in Serbia as part of the first-ever Balkans Summit last August. The pieces of art featured at the auctions are supplied by various talented artists, such as the Malta-based Derek Mason. Two of Mason’s most noteworthy contributions are Nano and the Heraldic, which went for €13,000 and €10,000 respectively. The net revenue income minus expenses will be donated to the SiGMA Foundation and its causes.
Malta-based artist Derek Mason, alongside some of his best-selling art.
Brown’s Camino de Santiago challenge
In the past few years, SiGMA Foundation has directly organised Brown’s Camino de Santiago challenge, a hiking program through rural northern Spain which brings together groups of people for the trek of a lifetime.
Last May, 27 members set off from Sarria, converging on the fabled Santiago de Compostela cathedral after trekking through 120km of Spanish farmlands and forests. Another group of 28 set off last September. Brown’s has generously donated 70,000€ towards this project.
Other projects
To combat the Covid Pandemic, the SiGMA Foundation chose to strike out with a few creative projects. The Sharing is Caring campaign saw many volunteers donating their government vouchers to charity, raising bundles of €2,000 for 15 different local charities. Tech for Ed Malta similarly managed to relocate almost 50 computers to underprivileged families for online learning.
Further funds have been donated to the Dreams of Horses Farm by the end of 2022. The money will go into constructing an annex and dormitories for the volunteers at the farm, as well as an education centre for aspiring veterinarians.
The SiGMA Foundation’s Sharing is Caring (left) and Tech for Ed (right) campaigns.
Supplementary funds raised went to several other projects. SiGMA Foundation together with Costa Coffee Malta raised additional funds by providing two Ethiopian schools with water conservation equipment. A 5m3 water reservoir that will benefit over 1400 pupils and instructors at one Wote school has already been added as part of a renovation that cost $2,461. The second project is for Adeyi School and comprises two water tanks for the school and community, five water stations, one fresh spring, seven kilometres of pipeline, and training for seven WASHCo members, with a total of 7,538 beneficiaries.
Additionally, funding from the SiGMA Foundation were used to rebuild a vandalised memorial bench in the Mellie?a countryside that had been erected in honour of a deceased wife by her widower. Although the act of vandalism upset the family, it also inspired individuals to organise its reinstatement and donate money for it.
Keith Marshall, remarked that this “epitomises the power of the community, where we can all come together to bring relief and solace following such an unsavoury incident”. The family thanked the “kind hearts of Malta” for making it happen.
Projects for 2023
Inaugurating a massive, educational project in Ethiopia
A group of 14 members from past Kilimanjaro and Camino groups will be travelling to Ethiopia in January 2023 to inaugurate a three-in-one project in the Jimma Bonga area. The project, which comprises a kindergarten, a primary school, and a lower secondary school will be inaugurated on the 23rd of January. Said project will cost in excess of €300,000 and will feed and educate up to 1000 children.
The 4th and 5th Camino de Santiago expeditions
The Camino travellers celebrating their arrival at the Cathedral.
The SiGMA Foundation, together with their good friends at Brown’s Group of Pharmacies, are returning to Camino. A heavy training regimen is underway to prepare its members for the upcoming April 2023 expedition. This will mark the Foundation’s 4th Camino expedition, with plans for a 5th expedition comprising 30 souls in September 2023.
The funds raised from these expeditions will be dedicated to the refurbishment of an existing school in Bonga, as well as the implementation of a new wing. The new wing’s inauguration is planned towards the end of 2023.
Mount Toubkal, Morocco
The SiGMA Foundation plans to summit Morocco’s Mount Toubkal in May 2023 to fund many more of its charitable projects. Hikes are taking place all over Malta and Gozo in preparation of this daring feat.
The Foundation has had its sights set on other mountains besides Toubkal. Keith’s own yearly ‘Kilimanjaro Challenge’ series, debuting in 2004, saw him lead a team of trained individuals up the summit of the highest free-standing mountain, 20,000 feet up in the air. This project earned €1 million for various causes in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Mount Toubkal, the highest peak of the Atlas Mountains in southwestern Morocco.
The SiGMA Foundation
Following Chief Philanthropy Officer Keith Marshall’s personal ethos of ‘active participation’ over ‘passive giving’, the SiGMA Foundation raises most of its funds by hosting numerous expeditions across the globe, from the northern fields of Galicia, Spain to the staggering heights of Toubkal and Kilimanjaro.
Nothing less is expected of Keith, regarded by many as a battery of ceaseless energy.
It’s not necessarily about money. We all have the power to enrich the world, and the smallest contribution is just as precious.” – Keith Marshall
The Foundation is proud of its unwavering commitment to its many supporters and partners. It is managed by a board of administrators who value transparency as a core principle, working tirelessly to maximise the impact of every single cent raised. Austin Cachia, John Vella, and Matthew Spiteri stand out as three chief contributors who, alongside Keith, have nurtured the Foundation from the ground up to the charitable force of nature that it has become today.
With so many exciting plans in the pipeline, the present remains the best time to contribute to the SiGMA Foundation. Contributions can range from sponsorships to sharing ideas to physically joining in on the FUNdraising. Got what it takes? Hop onto the SiGMA philanthropy bandwagon today!
