Love in a Shoebox

8 September 2014

The year has progressed really quickly – the festive season is already approaching! It’s often a great time of year, as we spend it reconnecting with family and friends, and celebrating the year gone by. However, it can be heartbreaking for people who struggle to make ends meet. But, as they do every year, the Santa Shoebox Project offers us an opportunity to spread the love and experience the joy of giving.

The group collects gifts for children from vulnerable social backgrounds, including orphanages, children’s homes and care centres across the country – and has been doing it for the past eight years. This year’s theme is KISS: Keep it Sustainable Santa!

The initiate offers three separate ways to give:

Santa Shoebox has partnered with Checkers to bring in a new way to give. If you don’t live close to a Santa Shoebox drop-off zone, you can make your pledge online and Checkers will put your box together for you! The headquarter drop-off zone this year is at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The CTICC will be creating a full Santa’s workshop experience for donors and their kids to have a great time wrapping up gifts together.
Another new part of the project will give you the opportunity to donate Proudly South African raincoats to children in high-winter rainfall regions, so they can stay dry, and more importantly, in school right through the season.
As a third opportunity to get involved in the Santa Shoebox Project this year, companies and private benefactors are also invited to contribute to the project by making financial donations towards the new Santa Shoebox Legacy fund that will provide additional support to children’s facilities.

The target is 100 000 boxes, and last year’s donors exceeded this number by 20 000! All of these options can be easily done via the new Santa Shoebox website . If you don’t know what to put in your box the new website’s gifting guidelines will help.

Words: Dailyfix Staffer
Image: Santa Shoebox project