THE Ray of Hope Baby Home in Glen Hills has set its sights on raising funds for the home with a car-boot sale taking place on November 5.
The boot-sale fundraiser, set to take place at Immanuel Church, will see volunteers and members of the public selling new and pre-loved items with the proceeds going towards the upkeep of the home.
Centre crisis mother Rachel Uys says that they rely a lot on donations, and having the boot sale around Christmas time, when people’s hearts are soft, is ideal.
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“This is one time in the year when people will open their hearts and give, and that’s what we rely on. We want to be able to raise funds because the church that owns the baby home gives us a certain amount of money towards salaries and upkeep of the home, but running a baby home is costly. We always face the challenge of having enough funds to be able to buy all the relevant baby necessities and feed and clothe them,” said Rachel.
She says the home is working closely with Child Welfare in making sure that the babies are well taken care of.
“Child Welfare are very keen on re-unification, trying to put babies back into their families, which doesn’t always work because if they are willing to abandon a baby at birth, nothing will stop them from abandoning them again later on in life,” she said.
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For Rachel, running a baby home is something she would never have imagined. She says that when she was approached to be the crisis mother, she was not sure if it was something she could do.
“I went for training at Child Welfare, and they explained what was expected of me. It’s very addictive – people who get into it find it hard to leave because there are always new challenges – new babies coming and leaving. It’s very rewarding because you know you’re changing the lives of children,” she said.
The boot sale will take place at Immanuel Church in Somerset Park on November 5 between 09:00 to 14:00, with the last boot sale for the year taking place over two days in December: Friday, December 2 between 14:00 and 19:00 and Saturday, December 3 between 09:00 and 14:00.
If you would like to be part of this initiative, contact Dawn on 076 109 1216 or Sharon on 072 421 9855.
