The elderly folk of the Darrenwood Village retirement home enjoyed some tea and cake in celebration of their donation of knitted beanies, blankets and clothing to the Cansa foundation on 20 May.
Darrenwood Village’s Sister Marion Tullett said, “We don’t do this very often, but this is why we are including everybody today to celebrate this achievement. Most of the beanies for the donation were knitted by one specific nurse, Violet Pasha.
“Violet is the carer for Mrs Perkins and we call her our ‘beanie queen’. Mrs Perkin’s son Peter also generously donated bags and bags of goods to be donated.”
Further knitted goods and donated items were given by other members of the home. “My daughter and I, on behalf of the village, brought a lot of the baby stuff to be donated,” Tullet said.
Cansa’s Ester Pretorius said, “We have so many elderly people and children visiting us who are going through chemotherapy and have lost their hair. These beanies and other clothes will go a long way to comfort them during the winter.”
Another huge contributor to the initiative was the Don’t Look Away, Reach Out Foundation, who assisted in donating knitted scarves, jumpers and beanies.
The foundation’s Rick Beltramo said, “We work with a number of communities from Thembisa to Honeydew, upgrading and supporting their crèches. Supporting cancer associations is something very close to my heart, and a lot of our sponsorships go towards helping cancer patients in disadvantaged communities. We encourage all who are willing to help out in this cause to donate where they see fit.”
Pretorius said, “For us this is such a huge honour, and what is even more special is that Darrenwood Village has challenged other old age homes to do the same, so we are holding thumbs.”
Tullett added, “We want to put out a challenge to all other frail care homes to see if they can do better than us with beanies and blankets for the Cansa foundation. It’s all in the spirit of caring and fun.”
Details: Don’t Look Away, Reach Out Foundation 079 500 3123; Cansa www.cansa.org.za
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