![\"ccs-62657-0-99192600-1438260332.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-99192600-1438260332-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nFrom left: Mickey Wilkins (CEO Domino Foundation), Richard Munn-Gavin (Chairman Domino Foundation), Mark Flanagan (Trustee, Club Cappuccino), Suzelle Stegen (aQuell\u00e9 Marketing Manager), Mike Lewis (Trustee, Club Cappuccino), Leanne Lorrance (HOLAH), Gary Harman (Trustee, Club Cappuccino), Kim Brown (HOLAH), James Benskin (Grace Family Church) were all present as the aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban presented by Sunday Tribune and Club Cappuccino handed over cheques of R50 000 and R5 000 respectively to the Domino Foundation and the House of Love and Hope (HOLAH).<\/span><\/p>\n The Domino Foundation is a non-profit organisation that believes in the power of a changed life, and operates a range of community outreach programmes involving 4000 young men and women under the age of 18 that focus on the individual, to empower, uplift and transform their lives so they too can impact the nation and others around them. <\/p>\n CEO of the Domino Foundation Mickey Wilkins believes that the way in which the aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban and the Domino Foundation have come together to create an opportunity for young people to get involved in cycling is one of the major outcomes of the relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cA race like the Tour Durban gives all riders the chance to participate and not just your elite riders,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cFor us, giving the guys in our community the chance to come and participate in a race that they have not been able to take part in is something special.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not just about the money for us, it is about the chance that these young people get to take part in such a prestigious race like the aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban.<\/p>\n \u201cWith that said the reality is that the money does make a difference in that it will be ploughed back into their lives through the life skills programme that the money will support.<\/p>\n Being part of the Domino Foundation team that takes part in the Tour Durban is something that Wilkins also believes is one of the most satisfying elements of the partnership.<\/p>\n \u201cThe excitement that surrounds the community in the build-up to the event including the training and putting on the team kit is hugely satisfying part of the event.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guys shouting for each other along the route during the race and people wearing the same shirts as the development riders are all bits of the experience that create such a special atmosphere around the day,\u201d he mentioned gratefully.<\/p>\n Wilkins is hoping that the relationships between the aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban and the Domino Foundation can grow and with cycling becoming more and more popular he hopes to see the interest grow within the Domino Foundation community.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to see more participation in the event from the people in our community and with cycling being recognised as a sport growing in popularity and being encouraged I would love to see more black kids taking part,\u201d Wilkins concluded.<\/p>\n Event organiser Stu Berry explained the unique nature of the relationship between the Tour Durban and the Domino Foundation mentioning how all proceeds from the race go to charity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe business structure of the Tour Durban is different to the other national cycling classics in that it is owned by a Non-Governmental Organisation and all of the profits from the race go to charity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a really true event in that all riders know that all of the profit that comes out of the event goes back into a worthy cause like the Domino Foundation and I think that is important for the direction in which the sport of cycling is going,\u201d Berry mentioned. <\/p>\n The House of Love and Hope (HOLAH) is a haven for abandoned and orphaned babies and they too also benefited from the aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban as the race handed over a cheque for R5000.<\/p>\n