Kids Haven is grateful for all the donations it has received over the years, but it needs a few immediate items, which it is hoping the community will open their hearts towards helping.
The shelter needs more mattresses for the children.
“We buy special foam mattresses that fit their bunk beds, not ‘any’ single mattress or foam mattress,” Susan Daly, coordinator of fund-raising, said.
“Each one costs R740. We would be glad to receive donations towards mattresses.”
The Tait House charity shop
“We are also very grateful to our shoppers at the Tait House charity shop. We are seeing this income from selling second-hand items and books growing,” Daly said.
“This is very valuable income for us for running costs, like maintenance for instance.
“This is where we sell good books, special homeware and even high-end furniture. Shopping here makes a big difference.”
The Tait House charity shop is situated at 140 Woburn Avenue.
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Teen hub
“Our teen hub is inching closer to completion. We had intended to locate the teen hub on the leased land from the council, but unfortunately, we continue to wait for the council to permit us to submit the site development plan,” Daly said.
“We have signed the lease on August 30, 2020, but are not yet allowed to do anything to develop the site. We continue to request council provides the outstanding paperwork to Kids Haven but for now we wait.
“In the meantime, the new education annex is up and almost ready for use. This small classroom block has been built on part of the Kids Haven pre-school playground, while still leaving a grassy area to play on. It has four classrooms and a large multi-purpose room.
“The Kids Haven bridging school programme will use the classrooms and we will be opening the teen hub to inner-city teens living around Kids Haven in August.
“Their meeting room will be the multi-purpose room, and they will have use of the computer e-learning classroom and the library.
“Kids Haven will ensure that this is a safe space for teenagers to spend time on weekday afternoons (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) and Saturdays from 9:00 until 15:00.
Volunteers needed
“We are looking for volunteers who can offer time to teach and mentor these young people – we need school tutors, PC experts and designers, musicians, dancers, yoga instructors, karate, anything really,” she said.
“We need volunteers and trainers who can commit to a regular time for three to four weeks at a time – say one afternoon for two hours for four weeks.”
Anyone who can help can contact Lerato at lerato@kidshaven.co.za or on 011 421 4222.
“This is a new programme and we are happy to hear of your suggestions and ideas,” Daly said.
“Finally, we invite people to take a look at our website (www.kidshaven.co.za), especially the volunteer tab.
“There are many easy-to-do ideas for children needing to earn community hours along with adult volunteering. It is still not yet possible to have face-to-face volunteering easily but slowly we are encouraged by the easing of restrictions when we can welcome visitors again.
“Kids Haven staff have all been able to get their vaccinations through the Department of Social Development’s initiative to include care homes. We are all feeling happy about this.”
The City Times has contacted the metro regarding the land and are awaiting feedback.
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