Keep orphans warm this winter – blanket drive
The initial recipient orphanages are Growing Wise Homeless, Doves Nest Place of Safety and Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy Winterveldt. Other blanket drives will receive the remainder.
“IT is our social responsibility to keep the needy warm,” said Head of CSI at Momentum, Charlene Lackay. “It is also heart-warming to see the response we received from the cricket fraternity.”
In winter many take for granted their cosy homes and warm blankets, however this can also be a brutal season, dreaded by those who do not have adequate shelter or the basic luxury of a blanket. To help, Momentum and Sesli Blankets this year teamed up with Irene Homes, with a plan to make winter a whole lot warmer for orphans and those in need.
The ‘blanket approach’ started with mobilising Momentum staff and as many people as possible to knit squares for the ladies at Irene Homes for the Mentally Disabled to knit into blankets. The big goal was to have enough blankets to cover an entire cricket oval. Local blanket manufacturer Sesli Blankets came on board with a promise to donate a blanket for every completed knitted blanket. As it turns out, Sesli exceeded their promise by also donating an additional 380 blankets.
“We are proud to be part of the blanket drive, and didn’t hesitate to come in and donate a blanket for each knitted blanket,” said CEO of Sesli Blankets, Mustafa Sesli, “We are glad that we will be able to assist in giving a blanket to an orphan this winter.”
A blanket handover ceremony to recipient charities was held at the Johannesburg Cricket Club on Wednesday June 25.
Though according to Charlene Lackay they didn’t make it entirely, this is a project that they will continue for the rest of the year. “This is the beginning of a long blanket drive, and next winter we will be able to meet all expectations.” All the blankets were laid out on the pitch to see how close they came to their goal.
A total of 620 blankets will be donated. The initial recipient orphanages are Growing Wise Homeless, Doves Nest Place of Safety and Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy Winterveldt. Other blanket drives will receive the remainder.
The campaign was kicked off earlier this year with support from the Momentum Proteas, the national women’s cricket team, players from the Unlimited Titans, Cricket of the Year AB de Villiers and media and all of Momentum’s staff and partners throughout South Africa.
