Fourways Rotary to donate festive season gifts to many children
FOURWAYS – Continuing their yearly tradition of collecting and donating toys to children in hospitals and orphanages, Fourways Main Reef Rotary Club and NPO ExPro are still looking to make the festive season a great one for children.
The Main Reef Fourways Rotary Club and Ex Professional Sports Personalities SA (ExPro) partnership has seen a number of toys set to be donated to children in need.
The annual Toys for Joy luncheon took place on November 19 where 4 000 toys were donated by attendees. Stephen Margo, public relations and membership officer of the club said toys are also coming from around the country for the drive. “ExPro organises a Toys for Joy luncheon each year in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Each attendee donates one or two new toys which Rotary then collects,” he said.
He added that community members are encouraged to donate toys as well. “Even during the past year and during the Covid lockdown, ExPro raised funds and purchased a large number of toys for distribution, ensuring that children would each receive at least one toy.”
Margo said the club collects between 700 and 200 toys to be donated that are sorted to age and gender for the children.
ExPro, a non-profit organisation created to support former football players, has worked with the Fourways Main Reef Rotary Club for the last 12 years in order to donate toys to children in a number of hospitals and shelters.
Chairperson of ExPro, John Louch said the NPO started years ago when he played professional football and got some of his football friends to donate toys while hosting a luncheon. “I was thinking of the number of kids who wake up on Christmas Day without ever receiving a present. And then I thought I would work with Rotary because I needed someone who was transparent. The easy part was getting the toys, but the most important part was getting those toys into the right hands,” Louch said.
“Last year, we couldn’t have any events because of Covid. Up until September 30 this year, I thought I was only going to be able to get 2 000 toys due to the donations. Thankfully when we went to Level 1, we hosted two lunches and have each person bring two toys each, and we achieved our goal of getting 4 000 toys.”
Throughout the next few weeks, the toys will be donated to various children’s hospitals and orphanages while maintaining necessary Covid-19 protocols. Both Margo and Louch said community members are still welcome to donate toys for the drive.
Details: For more information on how you can donate a toy, contact steve_margo@global.co.za
Share your thoughts on the Fourways Review Facebook page.
Related articles:
