Where Your Donations Go: How We Use Your Support at SOHK

At the School of Hard Knocks, we believe in transparency, accountability, and community impact. Every donation we receive is more than a transaction. It is a commitment to the futures of young people facing real adversity.

Your generosity allows us to do much more than run a sports programme. It allows us to offer consistent mental health support, mentorship, and real-world life skills to students who need it most. And because many of our participants come from underserved communities, your donations ensure that no child is ever turned away due to cost.

Let us walk you through exactly how we use your donations to change lives.

1. Direct Mental Health Support and Education

Your donation helps us pay for trained mental health professionals to guide students through emotional regulation, trauma processing, and confidence-building exercises. We bring psychosocial education straight into the schools and fields where our programmes run.

Many of our students are navigating grief, domestic violence, neglect, and intense social pressure. Some are caring for younger siblings, others are facing housing instability. Your donation helps us create safe spaces for them to open up, feel heard, and build the skills to thrive.

Your donation covers:

  • Weekly group therapy-style check-ins

  • Emotional wellness workshops

  • Journaling, mindfulness, and resilience exercises

  • Individual referrals for higher-risk cases

2. Coach and Facilitator Training

Every SOHK coach is trained not only in sport, but in trauma-informed care, emotional intelligence, and safeguarding. We invest in our team so they can invest in the students.

Your donations help fund:

  • Ongoing training in mental health awareness and adolescent psychology

  • Certification for safeguarding and youth protection

  • Resources for coaches to run workshops, debrief sessions, and classroom-style lessons alongside rugby

SOHK coaches are more than mentors. They are role models. They become trusted adults for youth who may not have anyone else to talk to.

3. Programme Expansion and Weekly Delivery

The backbone of SOHK is consistency. That means delivering weekly programming, building long-term relationships, and creating measurable growth.

We use donations to fund:

  • Staff salaries for our small, dedicated team of programme leads and coordinators

  • Curriculum materials and printed resources for schools and students

  • Weekly planning and delivery for sport and life skills sessions

  • Monitoring and evaluation tools to measure student progress

Each week, we work in classrooms, on fields, and in small groups to build confidence, connection, and emotional safety.

4. Special Projects and Holiday Support

We know that the school calendar does not always line up with a student’s emotional needs. That is why we also offer:

  • Crisis support for families in immediate need

  • Special campaigns like Next Gen Men for empowering young boys with emotional literacy

  • Events that bring families, schools, and communities together to celebrate the progress of our students

These projects are only possible because of donations from people like you.

5. Awareness Campaigns and Advocacy

Your donation also helps us go beyond programme delivery. It supports our work in changing the public narrative around mental health in schools.

With your support, we are able to:

  • Create content that educates communities about youth mental health

  • Share the stories of our students to raise awareness and reduce stigma

  • Host community dialogues around topics like gender-based violence, loneliness, or emotional resilience

  • Advocate for systemic change at a school and policy level

When we speak, we speak for youth who have been told to stay silent. Your donation helps us amplify their voices.

A Real Story: What Your Donation Made Possible

Meet Thando, a 15-year-old student in Khayelitsha. When he joined SOHK, he had just moved in with extended family he barely knew. He was failing at school, feeling invisible at home, and spending hours on TikTok to escape the loneliness.

Through SOHK, Thando found a place to open up. He discovered he was not alone. He learned to name his feelings and developed the confidence to talk about his mental health. He also found a love for rugby and a sense of identity on the field. His hero is Cheslin Kolbe, and now he dreams of becoming a Springbok too.

This transformation did not come from one workshop. It came from ongoing support, committed coaches, and a community that believed in him.

That is what your donation funds.

How to Give

There are many ways to support SOHK:

  • Monthly Donations: Help us plan long-term and expand to new schools

  • Once-Off Donations: Cover the cost of a jersey, a meal, or a therapy session

  • Corporate Partnerships: Fund entire programmes for schools or communities

  • In-Kind Support: Offer resources, services, or space

However you choose to give, know that it matters.

Every Rand Counts

We are proud of how we use your donations. We are lean, impact-focused, and deeply committed to the young people we serve. We believe that transformation comes from consistency, community, and care. That is what we offer.

You are not just donating money. You are helping a child feel seen. You are helping a teen process their trauma. You are building a better South Africa, one student at a time.

If you want to see the change, be the change. Donate today.

Meesh Carra