The Santa Shoebox Project will be reaching its one millionth child this year, and invites donors to participate in the momentous event.
The project, which presents thousands of personalised Christmas gifts to underprivileged children each year, is looking forward to announcing the millionth Shoebox donated, the millionth Shoebox dropped off and the millionth child to receive their Shoebox.
Will you be the millionth Santa Shoebox donor?
“This year we will be celebrating the fact that we’ve made one million brighter Christmases for underprivileged children in South Africa. We hope that donors will help us achieve this momentous milestone by getting involved and pledging many more Shoeboxes this year,” said Santa Shoebox CEO, Deborah Zelezniak.
From September 1, lists of children’s names will be made available via the Santa Shoebox Project website www.santashoebox.org.za.
Donors create a supporter profile, and are granted access to the children’s first name, age, gender and clothing size, so they can create personalised gifts for their selected children.
Donors register for a drop off in their area, which takes place on specific dates in October and November, and create Shoeboxes for children living in and around their own community.
The required contents of a Santa Shoebox have been chosen with the underprivileged child in mind:
1. A toothbrush and toothpaste
2. A facecloth and cake of soap
3. School supplies
4. An outfit of clothing
5. Sweets
6. A toy
All items must be new, unused and age-appropriate. Extra items are most welcome, as long as they all fit into a medium-sized shoebox (the size of an adult running shoebox).
Extra items could include for example a re-usable shopping bag in which the child can carry their Shoebox home.
Shoeboxes should be cheerfully decorated, with the lid wrapped separately to the box, allowing it to be opened without damaging the decorations.
Virtual Santa Shoeboxes are offered to donors who are unable to do their own shopping, packing and dropping off. These are made by teams of volunteers, and allocated to children living in remote areas of South Africa.
Due to the lack of donors in rural areas, these children would otherwise not receive a Santa Shoebox, and quite possibly no end-of-year gift at all. Donors interested in contributing to a Virtual Santa Shoebox can visit https://santashoebox.org.za/virtual-santa-shoebox/.
All Santa Shoeboxes are trackable via the Santa Shoebox App which is available from Google Play and the App Store. Donors can track their Shoebox from the moment they pledge to the magical moment the child receives their very own lovingly-created Santa Shoebox.
Later in the year, towards the end of October, supporters will be invited to volunteer at their local drop off; receiving, checking and packing Santa Shoeboxes. Drop offs will be conducted in-line with prevailing Covid-19 regulations.
For detailed information about how to pledge and how to volunteer, please visit the Santa Shoebox Project website FAQs here https://santashoebox.org.za
