THE annual Santa Shoebox Project is ready to receive pledges, and organisers are moving full steam ahead to provide underprivileged children in South Africa and Namibia with personalised gifts of essential items and treats.
After 15 years the initiative has reached more than one million children.
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The Santa shoebox contains essential items such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, a facecloth and soap, a toy, sweets, school supplies and a clothing item.
All items must be new, unused and age appropriate. Extra items are welcome, as long as they all fit into a medium-sized shoe box.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, a cloth face mask can be a beneficial extra item.
Shoe boxes should be cheerfully decorated, with the lid wrapped separately to the box, allowing it to be opened without damaging the decorations.
The pledging process is easy and donors can visit the webpage https://santashoebox.org.za to create a supporter profile and be granted access to the children’s first names, age, gender and clothing size.
Donors register for a drop-off in their area, which takes place on specific dates in October and November.
In the interests of volunteer and beneficiary safety, donors are requested to sanitise their hands and wear a mask when packing their shoe boxes a minimum of three days prior to dropping them off.
Virtual Santa shoeboxes are offered to donors unable to do their own shopping, packing and dropping off.
These are made by teams of volunteers, and allocated to children living in remote areas.
Owing to the lack of donors in rural areas, these children would otherwise not receive a Santa shoebox, and quite possibly no end-of-year gift at all.
All boxes can be tracked via the Santa Shoebox app which is available from Google Play and the Apple App Store.
More information and updates can be followed on the organisation’s social media platforms:
Facebook: /SantaShoebox
Twitter: @SantaShoebox
Instagram: /santashoebox
YouTube: The Santa Shoebox Project
Pinterest: /santashoebox
Project Liaison – info@santashoebox.org.za
