Donate blankets for the homeless
Pastors Gert and Glyn Coetzee encourage the community to help the Sycamore Community Church with donations of blankets to give to the homeless this winter.
SYCAMORE Community Church is appealing to the community to help with donations of blankets which will be handed out to the homeless in the Glenwood and Umbilo areas on Father’s Day.
The project with the homeless in the community was started two years ago when congregant, Jason Pillay, approached Pastors Gert and Glyn Coetzee.
“Jason was very keen to start a street ministry and had an amazing plan to get them together on a Sunday morning, give them a message and then give them a meal. We started with 20 men, and now we have 120,” said Glyn.
The ministry has grown, with the assistance of Bobby Varghese, who helps Jason, and Jason has found work for several of the men.
“The first man Jason helped was employed as a car guard and as a security guard. The man spoke at a service at the church recently, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place! He said he was amazed at how the congregants shake his hand and hug his wife, and how they are treated as people,” said Glyn.
She said several other men are employed as car guards in the area and Jason had also employed them as security guards at his business.
“Some are still on the street, but they have employment and can afford to rent rooms. The number of homeless on the street is increasing. If we don’t help them, we are not fulfilling what Jesus commanded us to do. We don’t judge them, we try help in any way we can. These men deserve a chance,” she said.
She said Jason and Bobby had helped to give the men Christmas gifts and a meal last year, as well as blankets and beanies last winter, but the number of men had grown too much for the small congregation at Sycamore Church.
“Our ladies club has done its bit to crochet blankets for the pensioners in the frail care at Natal Settlers, but as we gave these men blankets last year, we would love to be able to do this again this winter, with the help of the community. We are battling to collect as many as we need this year, as the numbers have increased so much. We would be eternally grateful for donations,” she said.
The blankets will be handed to the men at a Father’s Day lunch on 19 June.
Glyn said if the community could help with donations of blankets, as well as clothes or any other donations, they should contact the church on 031 205 7838 or 084 548 4168. The church is at 18 Sycamore Road, off Esther Roberts Road, Umbilo.
