Stories to warm your heart
FOURWAYS – Here are five of the most heartwarming stories that the Fourways Review have published in the last 12 months.
It is just as important to hear good news as it is to hear the bad news.
With that in mind, the Fourways Review has gathered some of the most heartwarming stories from around the Fourways area that we reported on in the last 12 months. Here they are, all five happiest stories in one place so that you can get your dose of smiles.
- Spirit the dog finds a good home
In October 2016, a truly heartbreaking story came across the Fourways Review news desk: Two pedestrians walking past a river in the Farmall area spotted a dog in the river as a male malamute had been thrown into the waterway with his paws tied together in an apparent attempt to drown the animal. Rescued and brought to Blue Bush Animal Clinic for treatment, the dog (named Spirit by his rescuers) faced some health concerns and nearly lost his leg which had been injured some time previously. But in February 2019 we got word that Spirit was healthy, happy and had found a home with Lexi Austen of the All Hearts Foundation SA in Hartbeespoort.
Read the full story here.
- Gareth Putter supports rhinos
On 26 April Putter submitted a specially-constructed scaffolding tower, measuring 16 metres high, outside the Montecasino Bird Gardens where he lived for a full calendar month in order to raise funds for non-profit organisations that fight against rhino poaching. Unfortunately, only R200 000 was raised by the time he came back down on 26 May but he hoped the experiment inspired members of the public to stand up and care for wildlife.
Read the full story here.
- The fight against childhood cancer gets sweet
September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the Cupcakes of Hope non-profit company once again held their annual National Cupcake Day 4 Kids with Cancer event for the eighth time at about 88 shopping centres across South Africa. On 28 September, volunteers across the country sold cupcakes in order to raise millions of rands for child cancer sufferers and their families. Among them was Lonehill resident Lizette Robertson, who volunteered to bring the event to the Lonehill Shopping Centre for the first time in the day’s history. With the help of three local bakeries, Robertson managed to sell out of baked goods completely on the day.
Read the full story here.
- Mandy Brennon gives back on her birthday
In May, Fourways resident Mandy Brennon did something a little different for her birthday – instead of making the day about her, she decided to make the day about the staff and children of Sophy’s Daycare in Diepsloot West. In lieu of birthday presents, Brennon instead asked people to make donations to Mlambo’s school. Among the donations were 20 child-size mattresses with material covers, eight plastic chairs and two plastic tables, some second-hand toys, space mats, non-perishable food and 15 blankets and the visitors also brought along cake to share on the day.”
Read the full story here.
- Anti-bully advocates develop app to help victims of bullying
The Fourways Review has previously written about Samantha Heald and her Cool2BeKind initiative, which aims to address bullying among school-aged children. In April, Heald partnered with Marc Hardwick, a former child abuse investigator, to create the Guardian Anonymous Reporting app, which allows children to anonymously report bullying or abuse to safe, caring adults at their school. The app allows reports to be seen by adults in real time, can help schools pinpoint times and locations where incidents often happen and even allow children from schools that haven’t bought into the service to message for advice.
Read more here.
