Wheel Well on the journey to Strijdom Park

With a bright smile and a warm handshake, the founder and owner of Wheel Well sat down in the company’s new premises to talk about how Wheel Well came to be.

Wheel Well was founded by Peggie Mars in January 2012. The organisation started off as a campaign collaboration with a Cape Town resident to collect car seats for families who could not afford them in 2011. Mars lent a hand with the campaign’s Gauteng donations since the response was so enthusiastic. This campaign served as a springboard for Mars to leave her job, already aligned with the traffic industry, in favour of child safety.

After the registration of the company and the completion of all the ‘business things’ as Mars referred to them with a laugh, she was able to begin collecting car seats in her two-door garage. The new office along Hammer Avenue in Micro Industrial Park is only a few months old to Mars. Wheel Well was originally based at the Brightwater Commons, now known as Ferndale on Republic, close to the Pick n Pay. Mars made the move to the Hammer Avenue Industrial Park due to a demand for more space.

Mars’ daughter, Theresa Erasmus, would like the public to see the Wheel Well team as ‘car seat experts’. The company offers services such as teaching people to fit their car seats correctly, washing car seats for children, collecting car seats and reselling them for donations. They are the only company which offers these services internationally and operates from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

When asked how she decides where the organisation chooses to have their activations, Mars explained, “We go where there are funding opportunities and where we are asked to go.”

Contact Wheel Well to see how you can join the organisation in affecting positive change on 073 393 7356, visit their website at www.wheelwell.org.za or go to the Wheel Well Facebook page.

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