Gift a child this Christmas.
Our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
are our future. Help Santa Shoebox in building a heritage we can all look back on with pride.
Pledge a Santa Shoebox today and #ShareTheLove
Now in its 17th year, South Africa’s best-loved children’s charity, the Santa Shoebox Project, has reached 1 077 289 under-privileged children in total. The success of the Project can largely be attributed to its personal nature – donors give gifts of essential items and treats to children whose names, ages and genders are known.
In April each year, the Project accepts applications from educational and care facilities countrywide who wish to receive Santa Shoeboxes for the children in their care. Each application is vetted for eligibility by a member of the Project’s team of volunteers. Sadly the need for Shoeboxes far outweighs the capacity of the Project to receive and distribute these valued gifts, and each year up to 3 out of every 4 applications is regrettably declined.
From 1 September each year you can pledge a Santa Shoebox for a child living in or around your community containing:
* Toothbrush & Toothpaste
* Soap & Washcloth
* School supplies
* Toy
* Sweets
* An outfit of clothing
All items must please be new, unused and age-appropriate.
Under this year’s theme of Share the Love, donors have the option to duplicate an item in their box, enabling the beneficiary child to gift that item to a friend or family member. This helps to empower the child while teaching them The Joy of Giving – the mantra of this beloved Project. All too often, underprivileged children are recipients of hand-me-downs and second-hand items that no one else wants – which is exactly the opposite of the Projects ethos. An underprivileged child has the same potential, the same value and the same full, layered life that a child of privilege does, they simply aren’t given the same opportunities. Share the Love is about empowering that child.
Please select PLEDGE HERE on the Santa Shoebox Project website home page www.santashoebox.org.za to begin your donor journey.
Should you encounter difficulties, their Help Desk is happy to assist,
either via WhatsApp on 082 884 7639 / 076 491 2407
or via email on info@santashoebox.org.za
or complete the form below
and a Santa Shoebox representative will get back to you
Once a pledge has been made, the donor will receive a pledge confirmation email, including all the necessary information about Shoebox contents and Drop Off as well as a link to printing the label populated with the child’s name, age and gender. Remember to check your Spam or Junk email folders, should you not receive this email.
Donors are encouraged to personalise their Santa Shoeboxes, with handmade items – embroidered names on facecloths, for example, or a handwritten note to the child; teddies can be knitted, and clothing sewn. This of course also keeps the cost of a Shoebox down. Feel free to collaborate with a friend to share the cost, or to create additional Shoeboxes.
Very often, donors choose their beneficiary child/ren based on the age and gender of their own children or grandchildren. Creating a Santa Shoebox is a wonderful opportunity to involve ones own children, and to teach them The Joy of Giving. Picture decorating a Shoebox with your grandchildren, for example.
READ MORE: Cost-effective and novel gifts for grandchildren
Please take care to wrap or decorate the Shoebox in a manner that it can be easily opened for checking, as each and every Shoebox received is checked for compliance by a volunteer at the 60+ Drop Off points countrywide. No items are ever removed, unless they are used, perishable or inappropriate for the age of the child receiving the Shoebox.
An absolute must when pledging a Santa Shoebox, is to drop it off on time at the designated Drop Off point, ensuring that it reaches the very child for who it has been pledged. This information is shown on your pledge confirmation email.
Over the 16 years that the Santa Shoebox Project has been in operation, it has earned the trust and love of South Africans everywhere, for always delivering on its promises.
Supporters are also able to purchase a Virtual Santa Shoebox (VSS) year-round, at a cost of R450.00. These Shoeboxes are made by teams of volunteers, and allocated to underprivileged children living in remote areas of South Africa. Due 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.
Complete the form below
and a Santa Shoebox representative will get back to you
