The 22-year-old college student and Boss Bakes owner Katrina Sutcliffe was just killing time and wanted to do something good for people in need when she started her own Pick n Pay sticker initiative to help others.
She was surprised by the overwhelming response from the community who also got involved.
On November 26, Sutcliffe started the sticker vouchers project collected from Bedfordview residents, most of whom did not know what to do with them.
She bought hamper buckets, which cost R100 each, and handed these out to people she believes really deserve them.
“I had just finished exams so I had some time to kill during the days. I had the idea to start the initiative when I saw another person doing something similar on another community group.
“They were using the vouchers to buy groceries for people. I remembered seeing the hamper buckets for R100 and it had a lot of great stuff in it,” said Sutcliffe.
Instead of giving all the buckets to one charity, Sutcliffe believed it would be more meaningful to give at random.
Sutcliffe wanted the buckets to go to people who really needed them and would appreciate every item inside the bucket.
She had honest-living people like helpers, trolley guys and roadside vendors in mind.
“Pick n Pay ended the promotion for people to get more stickers, so I asked the Facebook group Basically Bedfordview if any people had cards and stickers. I didn’t expect the response I ended up getting. But people were so eager to hand in their cards and stickers to me.
“Some have also donated money to me to buy the buckets as well,” said Sutcliffe.
Sutcliffe collected over 50 buckets by only doing three rounds of collections from residents.
“We’ve come together as a community to make a huge difference in people’s lives.
“Taking the time to hear each person’s story helps make a genuine connection with people in our community,” said Sutcliffe.
Sutcliffe said this experience has made her much more appreciative of the things she has in her life and hopes to inspire others in different communities to help people in need.
She has had many other businesses in the community offering to be the drop-off points for donations.
For those who would like to donate their PnP stickers or cards, they can do so at Dear Maria in Bedfordview and Corporate Conference Centre in Dowerglen.
