Many felt some winter warmth

THIS week saw the final handover of The Star’s Operation Snowball blanket drive, where the last batch of blankets were given to Takalani School for the disabled by Group Five, one of Operation Snowball’s regular donors.

Theresa Michael, HR manager for Group Five’s corporate and business services, said the company’s employees had been called upon to donate a blanket or money towards the purchase of them. “This year we concentrated on quality instead of quantity, so we bought 346 really good-quality blankets, and one of our service providers, Careworks, also donated,” Michael said.

Operation Snowball reached its 12 000 mark goal, bringing to a close the 2015 winter warmer campaign. The season has seen children’s homes, retirement villages and the homeless receive a blanket during winter. Partnering with Gift of the Givers (GOTG), many of the recipients were also given a hot meal and a comfort pack during the handouts.

GOTG runs South Africa’s largest feeding scheme and The Star’s editor, Kevin Ritchie, handed over a cheque for R100 000 towards the organisation’s efforts.

Noria Seekane attended the handover ceremony as the representative from Takalani, which operates a daycare programme for 246 children from its premises opposite Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. “The blankets are so fluffy and everyone is happy,” Seekane said. The blankets were given to the families of the physically and mentally disabled children at the school.

The Star exceeded last year’s target during the 2015 winter where cold spells have seen temperatures plummet overnight.