Create hope with Cuddle Angels project
Help Chenoa Benkman grow her Cuddle Angels project by making a donation of teddy bears or Easter eggs.
EVEN though she is still in high school, Chenoa Brenkman has been able to touch the hearts and put smiles on the faces of more than 1 000 children.
She now needs the help of the Highway community to help grow her Cuddle Angels project.
Before Christmas last year, Chenoa decided that putting a smile on a child’s face was at the top of her Christmas wishlist.
Her outreach project started last year with the aim of collecting and distributing 1 000 teddy bears and plush toys to children across the Durban area and a few in Johannesburg.
With the help of the Highway Mail and extensive appeals to the local community, she reached her goal of 1069 teddy bears.
“On Christmas Eve I reached the goal of 1 000, a definite early Christmas present for me.
“When I handed the teddy bears out to the children I felt a soft spot growing in my heart for each and every one them. They don’t have anything and they appreciate everything that they are given,” said Chenoa.
Her plan was never a once-off distribution and she hopes to expand and grow the initiative this year.
“While I will still be collecting teddy bears, I am also hoping to try and collect Easter eggs for children and possibly host an Easter egg hunt for a number of local children’s homes in the Highway area,” said an impassioned Chenoa.
Now in her matric year, she has been appointed as the deputy head girl at St Benedicts School in Pinetown and the pressure is on.
“If there is any learner from any school, or anyone with spare time that would like to help with Cuddle Angels, it will be greatly appreciated,” she said.
The duties would include collecting Cuddle Angels, drops-offs and distributions, reaching out to people for donations such as media, sponsorships, organising fund-raisers and making appeals via Facebook.
“Naturally, I am a very busy person and I could fit it in but I find myself running out of time and there just aren’t enough hours in a day to do it all. It takes a lot of your time but at the end of the day, when you hand over the toys to the children and you see their faces light up, it really makes it all worth it.”
