Hartman, a board member and trustee, spearheaded the fundraiser and awareness drive for the trust that houses a number of NGOs including the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and Jason's own charity, Men Of Trees.
"We are incredibly honoured that people in Europe are so willing to assist us in South Africa - they have been undeniably an incredible support. We have a lot to do to get things off the ground and to get the benefits straight down to grass roots level," said Hartman. "We flew over with the aim of raising a substantial amount of money and awareness for Conservation Guardians and the response was so great that we are already in the planning phases of a second benefit later this year."
Conservation Guardians has the unquestionable commitment and support from the likes of HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover, HRH Prince Saud Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Baroness Vanessa von Zitzevitz as well as celebrities such as Christ Tucker and Christian Moore, all of whom attended the event at €400 a ticket. The best sale at the auction was €34 000 for a Larry Norton painting, while a Tabbah pendant went for €17 000.
A Conservation Guardians benefit, again driven by Hartman, is expected to come to South Africa later this year. He is currently in the planning stages of another benefit in Monaco for the trust, which will hopefully entail a private screening of the highly acclaimed film A Million Colours, which debuted nationally this week to a very positive response from South African audiences and critics. Hartman, in his debut role as an actor, plays the lead role in the movie alongside Wandile Molabatsi.
