Pledging opens for Santa Shoebox Project

SANTA Shoebox Project pledging starts on September 1 and this year’s theme is “Let’s Make Magic”.

Each year the project invites organisations which deal with or care for underprivileged children, orphanages, schools or children’s homes to apply to be beneficiaries of the project.
The project received 2 430 applications this year. All of these applications are vetted by Santa Shoebox Project coordinators before they are approved.
When pledging opens on September 1, a list of children’s names per area is published. Supporters can then go to the website, santashoebox.org.za, and select the recipient of their shoebox by name, age and gender.  You can select as many recipients as you like.
The children’s privacy and rights are upheld throughout the process and steps are taken to prevent third parties from interfering with and violating the children’s rights.  In an effort to protect the identity of the recipient children in the project, the project e no longer displays a list of children’s names in direct association with the name of a facility in a public domain, such as its website.
This ensures that no one from the public is able to gain access to a named child through the website.

The website provides a full list of items to be included in a shoebox. It is a guideline to what children need, as opposed to what they want.
Santa Shoebox Project recommends a special toy or gift in the box too, but this is a bonus for the children, as the aim is to give them items they really need.
Items include a toothbrush, toothpaste, facecloth, soap, age-appropriate stationery items, an outfit of clothing, an age-appropriate toy and sweets.

Volunteers are the heart of the Santa Shoebox Project.  At the beginning of each year, friends, families, colleagues and community members across South Africa and Namibia put their hands up and offer a few hours per month to share in the mantra of the “Joy of Giving”.  Details of how to volunteer are available on the website.

Virtual Santa Shoeboxes
This caters mainly to supporters outside South Africa who are not able to physically make up a shoebox and get it to a drop-off point. They buy a shoebox at a cost of R450 and the project creates one for them. The virtual shoeboxes are specifically distributed in rural areas where the donor capacity is low.
How to participate:
• Visit santashoebox.org.za
• Register as a supporter.
• Pick a convenient drop-off point that you can reach on the specified date.
• From September 1, when pledging begins, pledge a shoebox by selecting one or more recipients by name, age and gender.
• Print your QR-coded shoebox labels.
• Decorate or fill your shoebox according to the guidelines found on the website or Facebook page.
• Drop your shoebox at your selected drop-off point on the designated date.
For more information about the Santa Shoebox Project, contact Margie at margie@santashoebox.org.za

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