VOC has spent well over R1 million towards community outreach programmes in the 20 years of its existence, and that trend is set to continue with the opening of the 2015/2016 Bursary Fund. The annual drive, now in its 10th consecutive year, is one of the station’s biggest social investment projects and aims to aid needy young students in the payment of tertiary education tuition fees.

The station distributes bursaries amounting to as much as R10 000, hoping to ease the pressure on students who are forced to fork out hefty university fees.

Well over 100 students in total have benefited from the initiative since its launch. In 2014/2015 VOC gave away 24 bursaries, as well as 15 the year before. The fund is open to all students regardless of their path of study.

Criteria wise, the economic situation of all applicants will be taken into account to ensure bursaries are awarded to those who are most in need. The academic results of applicants will also be judged, as well as locality; preference being given to those within the Western Cape and greater Cape Town region.

“What we are doing is that proceeds of our fundraising efforts like the VOC Festival, we usually take R100 000 of that and set it aside for the Bursary Fund,” explained the project’s head coordinator, Niejmah Hayet.

She further appealed to businesses and individual community members to donate towards the cause, in the hopes of increasing the amount of bursary recipients.

“We are appealing out there to the communities and our businesses that do have the capacity to donate, even if they donate R1000 or R100, those little bits can make a substantial amount (towards the bursary),” she urged.

Applications for the Bursary Fund close on the 8th January 2016. This will afford matric students the opportunity to submit their final results along with their application.

Application forms can be downloaded via the following links: Bursary-Application-2016

For further enquiries please contact the VOC studios at 021 442 3500. VOC