A R50 000 donation from the Spars of the Highway area to the Shongweni K9 Unit took the SA Guardians & Community Safety NPC totally by surprise, as the organisation had not yet held an official launch.
The project has been well in the making for over a year and is the first of its kind in the country. It was conceptualised by SA CAN founder, Brian Jones along with his colleagues, Kita Karg and Adriaan Bekker.
“It is not for profit, registered as a security organisation with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) after receiving national approval on 29 August 2013, with the intention of providing direct support to the SAPS, security companies, neighbourhood watches, CPF’s, crisis centres, medical organisations and all other stakeholders in community policing. This initiative will operate with credibility, integrity, independence and neutrality,” said Jones.
The donation is in recognition of the fantastic work done by the Shongweni K9 Unit and will be administered by the Guardians to ensure that the proper protocol is followed and the process remains balanced.
The funds will be used to help build relationships between unit members and the community, as well as raising its profile and productivity and by extension, all SAPS members within the Highway area. 
It will also increase the frequency of awareness days, where the public can meet Spar management and K9 unit members, as well as with food and additional support to the service dogs.
The Guardians are in consultation with SAPS in planning the next step and have requested that CPF management be embraced.
“My sincere thanks to the owners of each Spar for their support of SAPS. I firmly believe that this finance is no coincidence and I look forward to serving alongside everyone involved,” said Jones.
For the sake of full disclosure, the initiatives registration numbers are as follows:
NPC: 2013/089627/08
PSIRA: 2277729
Contact SA CAN on 0861 672 226 (emergency SOS line), 0861 623 646 (admin help desk) or 083 799 1916 (24hr duty manager).