WHILE business losses during the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown have been well documented, NGOs and charities have been similarly affected given that their fundraising efforts were largely put on hold.
For the Reach for a Dream Foundation, an NGO established to make dreams come true for children aged three to 18 fighting life-threatening illnesses, the challenge was compounded by the fact that the organisation was unable to make dreams come true during the lockdown in the same way that it had done previously.
“Reach for a Dream’s largest fundraiser, Slipper Day, did not happen in 2020 as a result of the pandemic,” reports the foundation’s marketing manager, Roxanne Manuel.
“We therefore tried our very best to raise funds virtually through online events and auctions. At the same time we could no longer go to hospitals to fulfil the dreams of children facing life-threatening illnesses. That meant we had to find new ways of engaging with dreamers.”
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Like many organisations around the world, Reach for a Dream turned to digital technologies as a solution and by the end of 2020 had introduced virtual reality experiences.
“We are now looking for donors and content creators to sponsor the foundation in order to make more virtual reality kits available to more hospitals,” said Manuel.
The aim of the virtual reality kits is to give dreamers virtual reality experiences in order to inspire their imaginations and provide them with some joy as they battle their illnesses, reveals Manuel.
She adds that the foundation’s ability to continue to inspire dreamers has become even more important during the pandemic given that many of these children feel even more isolated from society than they would normally.
The public can support this year’s Slipper Day on 7 May.
Get behind this initiative and show support by purchasing a supporter sticker for only R20 and slippers for you and your family. With every sticker purchased, you can enjoy a free Famous Wimpy Coffee on Slipper Day.
Stickers will be available to buy in-store at Wimpy, Pick’n Pay and Dischem from 6 April.
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