Gardens of the Golden City donates to Park Care organisation
A whopping amount of R81 796.22 was donated to Park Care
Non-profit charitable organisation Park Care, based in Park Town West, received a generous donation of R81 796.22 to help the disadvantaged, sick and elderly residents in their care.
The Gardens of the Golden City, a local garden club, held garden shows from March last year to February this year to help raise funds for Park Care. They visited the organisation on April 4 to hand over the cheque.
The chairperson of Gardens of the City, Margreet Gaymans, explained how they collect funds. Firstly, they need to find suitable gardens and owners who are willing to open their gardens to the public to visit. She mentioned that the main challenge they face is that homeowners are concerned about their safety. Once the garden is open, visitors pay an entrance fee and the money goes to a chosen charity.
There are many charity organisations that are in desperate need of financial assistance and it was difficult for Gardens of the Golden City to choose who will benefit. Each year they choose two charities to help, and this year, Park Care and Earth Centre were the chosen beneficiaries. Both fall under the disadvantaged/disabled charities. There are various categories, such as charities for children or animals and they choose different charities every year.
Manda Pretorius, Park Care executive manager said, “It’s no lie that our donations are declining, and it’s difficult for us to keep up with toiletries, toilet paper and other necessities.” She said the funds will be put to good use as they need to buy nappies, which is their biggest expense.
They also need more special beds – with collapsible sides and/or low wooden beds to keep residents safe from rolling out and hurting themselves.
Pretorius said for the past 10 years some of the bedrooms had no curtains and there was no privacy. Part of the funds will go towards buying new curtains. They also received a donation from Linen Tech of 90 curtains.
Jaqui Smith, business development added, “We are happy and overwhelmed by the donations, because we really need them.”
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