Pledge a shoebox and make a child smile

Pietermaritzburg Santa Shoebox pledges are off to a great start this year. Since individual pledges opened on September 1, almost 80% of the boxes allocated to the Pietermaritzburg district have already been pledged.

Only 188 more boxes need to be pledged to meet the 917 target of boxes that will be distributed to schools and childcare facilities around Pietermaritzburg this Christmas.

Now in its 16th year, the national Santa Shoebox project serves to spread Christmas cheer to underprivileged children whose parents can’t afford to spoil them.

The pledging takes place online. Sponsors pick a child’s name (the age and gender are also provided) from a list and pledge to donate a shoebox full of the eight required items: a gender-appropriate outfit or clothing item, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a facecloth, a bar of soap, a toy, stationery, and some edible treats.

Pledgers have until the end of October to buy, fill, and decorate their shoeboxes before the allocated drop-off deadline on October 29 and 30. The shoeboxes are then distributed and each child is presented with their shoebox on the last day of school.

Santa Shoebox co-ordinator for Pietermaritzburg, Teri Beghin, said the response from Pietermaritzburg has been great this year. “We have around 180 six-year-old boys and girls left awaiting pledging and we are confident we will make our target,” Beghin said.

“Even if Santa Shoebox Pietermaritzburg exceeds its target, the extra boxes will be passed on to other nearby districts, so we will never turn any pledger away!” she added.

The collection date for the pledged shoeboxes is Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30. The drop off will be at the Metropolitan Methodist Church on the corner of Chapel and Longmarket Street, from 9am to 4pm each day.

Liberty Midlands Mall is also acting as a drop off point throughout the month. You can drop off your filled and decorated shoeboxes anytime before the deadline at the Information Centre.

Alternative drop off points include the Wesley Methodist Church on Cleland Road from October 24-28, in the mornings only; as well as Howick Community Church from October 25-28.

The Pietermaritzburg Santa Shoebox branch is also looking for volunteers to assist at the drop off points. If you would like to volunteer your time, contact Beghin: 082 315 2493

To pledge a

Santa Shoebox, visit: https:// santashoebox.org.za/ If you would like to sponsor a shoebox, but don’t have the time to go out and fill it, you can purchase a virtual shoebox on the site.