Help Child Welfare by giving R100 or 100 items
“WE NEED 100 people to donate R100 each, to help us celebrate 100 years of existence,” East London Child Welfare board chairwoman Helena Archer said.
The centre, started in 1916 by the Union of Jewish Women, started off as a girl’s shelter.
To this day, the centre provides care for disadvantaged children through its early childhood development programmes.
It also provides leadership and capacity-building training for organisations that work with children.
“We don’t make a profit because we are an NGO and yet our expenses grow day by day. The money goes to our social workers, destitute, abandoned and HIV affected and infected children.
“There is an ongoing need for funds in our children’s homes such as Sunshine Home, as well as in foster care.
“We can only celebrate this milestone if the community joins us by donating at least R100 on a stop-order basis. We want 100 of everything,” Archer said.
Brands Furnishers donated 100 pillows to the centre as part of their winter outreach to those in need.
“We had 100 pillows to give away and ironically it was EL Child Welfare’s 100th birthday,” said Brands Furnishers CEO Percy Shaw.
“We felt that there were so many needy children out there; lonely and cold.
“They need to be hugged and hug a pillow so that is where the idea came from.
“We contacted one of our suppliers to come on board with us and we also got a good deal for pillow cases, which are bright and beautiful.
“We want to plough back to the community; all you have to do is make a small contribution and don’t expect anything back.”
Shaw said Brands had started with doing small things to uplift the community, such as keeping the area outside their Oxford, Stephenson and Argyle street branches clean.
“We [Brands] are also sponsor of the Seaside Family Church Fun Cycle event with funds going to charity.
“We work with Love in Action [LIA] and have donated a lawnmower to them to keep the Gonubie area clean.
“We do what we can to uplift the community and challenge other businesses to donate 100 things to the needy and make a positive change.”
The NGO also received 100 working hours from Legal Wise.
“They are helping us with HR and we are very grateful.
“We need people to come and assist us in whatever way they can,” EL Child Welfare board director and social worker Suraya Leeuw said. – Additional reporting, Ethienne Arends
