What started as a challenge between a husband and wife has become an avenue to assist charity organisations in Randburg. Shaun and Lindie Tucker founded the Mall Walk, where they get to exercise while shopping for charity.
“This initiative started because I like park runs while my wife does not. While walking in Cresta Shopping Centre, I tried getting her to join park runs and she said she’d rather do a 5km in the mall. It was a challenge accepted and we decided to do it for charity” said Tucker.
Their idea soon caught on and the couple decided to invite those close to them to participate in aid of charity. To join in on the fun, one has to donate board games, arts and crafts from home as well as toys and clothing as an entrance fee.
Participants are then given a shopping list of what to buy, where to buy from and what it should cost, and a total. The shopping list also has a few questions about things inside the mall to answer.
“Before going off to shop, participants give us their step count for the day, while they’re walking, they’re doing more steps.
When the participants are done shopping, we take down their step count once again. The person with the closest to our average wins. We have a R500 voucher from Cresta, R500 from Kegg and Eagle Pub, R500 from Irish Rock Pub and R300 from Tasca Dos Amigos.”
The charity they walked for this [past] weekend benefited Woodside Sanctuary, which is a home for intellectually disabled children and adults. They currently have 85 residents and are located in Auckland Park. Woodside has been open since 1955 and started off in Yeoville. Back then, it was a home for babies but over the years, the residents have grown up and Woodside has become an old age home.
Loné Botha from Woodside Sanctuary was invited to be part of the walk and she was ecstatic to participate.
“Shaun and Lindie invited us to take part in the walk as the beneficiaries. Getting the shopping list and running around like crazy was tons of fun. It was important for us to take part as it benefits Woodside.
The shopping mall is so busy, especially on a weekend and you get to a till with one item and it’s awkward. But it was a lot of fun,” said Botha who added that Woodside is still referred to as a baby sanctuary, despite not having babies as residents.
“Because our residents are intellectually disabled, their mental capacity is that of a three or four-year-old child. Some of our residents have been with us since they were months old and are now in their fifties. It is sad that most parents don’t come to visit but it is expected.
In the past, doctors recommended families to keep their mentally disabled children away because they’ll never amount to anything.”
“We want to raise awareness that people with disabilities may not do everything we can, but they are still people and have emotions like everyone. Main stimulation programmes are occupational and physiotherapy as well as remedial teaching.”
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