During the year under review, CASA members invested R56 million in corporate social investment spending. Some highlights of projects receiving support are:

With a total CSI spend of R13 608 449, Peermont's Emperors Palace was involved with a number of key educational projects in the Ekurhuleni metropolitan area, principally through the Thuthuka Education Initiative, a support programme for 100 East Rand and Vaal Triangle schools. In the year under review, over R8 million was contributed to this project.

The East Rand Children's Trust received R1 033 104 for use in its many projects which included the provision of after-school care for children at eight schools in Tembisa, Kathlehong and Vosloorus, the purchase of uniforms for orphans at the Sithabile Childrens Home in Daveyton, and the sponsorship of 300 learners from Tembisa, Daveyton, Duduza and Vosloorus who attended Star schools for extra tuition.

Another educational initiative, the East Rand Youth Trust, received R1 033 104 for study bursaries to candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds. Since its inception in 1997, the Trust has produced 22 graduates and currently has 67 students (31% of them female) enrolled in Gauteng universities and tertiary institutions, and 150 students at college.

Century Casinos Caledon made CSI donations and sponsorships to the value of R542 860, of which R500 000 went to the Overberg Community Trust for community development. The balance was distributed to various school projects in and around the Overberg district. Additional donations were made to the Caledon Ambulance Service, the Institute for the Blind and Deaf, the Overstrand Child and Youth Care Centre and the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service.

Century Casinos Newcastle distributed sponsorships and donations to the value of R17 066 to a variety of charities, including a crisis centre and child welfare organisations.

Tsogo Sun’s expenditure during 2007 focussed on children affected by HIVAIDS. In keeping with this policy, R3.2 million was contributed to several children's homes for such projects as the building of security fencing and the provision of bedding and curtaining, the provision of school uniforms, books and other educational material and the flu vaccination of children.

Tsogo Sun also supported Business Against Crime through a contribution of R500 000 and allocated R2.8 million towards the development programmes of the Lions and Blue Bulls rugby associations, the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union and the Sun Coast Pirates Lifesaving Club. Additionally, a golf tournament under the patronage of the Duke of Edinburgh raised R789 769 for a variety of charities.

Emerald Casino spent R924 000 in CSI.

In the Gold Reef Group, Gold Reef City sponsored entrance to its theme park for numerous underprivileged children throughout the year. Other charitable beneficiaries in 2007 included three schools in Soweto where soccer facilities were sponsored, the He'atid Leadership Education Programme, the Soweto Home for the Aged, Project Smile for the aged, the Breast Health Foundation and the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust.

Major donations made by the Golden Horse Casino included those to an Educational Science Centre, the Careways Group - an organisation that provides counselling to people with HIV/AIDS, and CHOC - a centre for children afflicted with cancer. In addition the casino made donations to other beneficiaries such as Lifeline, the Pietermaritzburg and District Council for the Aged and KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.

Mykonos Casino donated 5% of its audited pre-tax profits to the West Coast Community Trust (WWCT), which provides educational assistance to the local community. A recent initiative of the trust was the Fossil Park project, a joint venture with local primary schools, which exposes learners to a worldrenowned heritage site and developed an activity handbook for scholars in three languages. Additional beneficiaries during the year included the Langebaan Animal Centre, the Sonskyn crèche and PLAY, a venture which raises funds to equip local parks.

The Garden Route Casino contributed to a local community trust which allocates funds to community projects such as AIDS hospices and recreational development programmes. The major projects of the Garden Route Casino Community Trust during 2007 were financial assistance to the Diaz Museum archaeological project, assistance with the completion of the Mossel Bay Child Welfare building, upgrading the outdated radio system of the local NSRI and supporting the upgrading of local underprivileged schools.

In terms of its temporary licence agreement, Goldfields Casino has committed to investing R1 million in community facility development within three years of opening. The resulting community trust made donations to the House of Joy (a home for abandoned children), Northern Free State Outreach (a training programme mainly for women) and the Lesedi Mohau Development Centre, which educates the unemployed, and the Cancer Association of South Africa.

Funded through a 2% allocation of annual after-tax profit, Sun International's total CSI spend for the 2007 financial year was R24 million. The greatest proportion of this went to health and welfare (40.9%) and education (22.9%) projects. 8.1% of total disbursements were allocated to sports, arts and culture projects. At a group level, CSI is primarily directed at national projects, organisations or charities that are of significance to the group as a whole, while unit-level CSI funding is directed at locally or regionally significant causes.

At the national level, principal beneficiaries were the Sports Trust, the Arts and Culture Trust, the National Sea Rescue Institute, the SA Paralympics team and the South African Chefs Association, which develops skills that are critical for the tourism sector, among other NGOs and beneficiaries.

Each Hollywood Slot Jackpot hit at individual casinos within the group results in a R500 contribution to Reach for a Dream, which assists hospitalised children and those who have life-threatening diseases.

At a regional level, some of Sun International's projects and sponsorships included the Tapologo AIDS Hospice in Rustenburg, which received more than R3 million, Ubuntu House, a place of safety for abandoned babies in the Western Cape, and the Mahatma Gandhi Crisis Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, which assists victims of abuse who are in need of counselling, support and treatment.

In the Western Cape, beneficiaries included Blisters for Bread, which feeds thousands of school children and the Khanya Project, a project undertaken in partnership with the Department of Education, which introduces disadvantaged learners to computers, information technology and e-learning.

In the Eastern Cape, the Mbizana Development Trust funded a satellite UNISA campus at the Wild Coast Sun resort, enabling a significant number of students - including Sun International employees - to have easy access to higher education closer to their homes and avoiding the need to travel to Durban.

Elsewhere, assistance was given to Bloemfontein Hospice, the Eziko Cooking Project and the Faranani hydroponic project, which creates sustainable farming jobs in Limpopo Province. Close to Sun City, the Pilanesburg Wildlife Trust funded improvements in wildlife management activities in the game reserve. At this location, the local community also benefits from a percentage of the gate-takings - a contribution which facilitates socio-economic development through job creation and poverty alleviation.

Two major projects in Limpopo were the Limpopo Youth Orchestra and the Sentahle Home-Based Care Centre, which provides the community of Ga-Maja with a single point of access to various services including government grants, support for HIV-AIDS patients and training for care-givers.

In neighbouring countries, Sun International's CSI initiatives in Botswana included the Tsholofelong refuge for street children and the Kamogelo orphanage in Mogoditshane. In Namibia, the Mount Sinai Centre assists HIV-positive mothers by providing formula milk and food hampers, while the Beautiful Gate Home in Lesotho is a new medical facility for the treatment of HIV-AIDS and other diseases. In Swaziland, the Royal Swazi Sun in Ezulwini provided food to orphans and vulnerable children in the local community and conducted community cleaning campaigns in the area to encourage care for the environment.

Sun International's properties in Zambia continued to play a key role in meeting various needs of the community. Over and above other sustainable projects that have been in place for some time - including the hydroponic farm - a library was built and equipped at the Mukuni Basic School and the school fees of 40 pupils from the Lubasi orphanage were sponsored in full.