#ShareaSmile this Casual Day
This year, Casual Day on September 1 is all about happy faces.
The annual fundraising event by the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) has launched and will run until September 1, Casual Day.
This year’s theme, #ShareASmile with Persons with Disabilities, aims to promote kindness, goodwill, and positivity to support persons with disabilities in South Africa.
Casual Day provides much-needed funds for the work of hundreds of schools and organisations in the disability sector. These include nine provincial associations of and for persons with disabilities (APDs) and five nationwide programmes and projects encompassing workplace access and entrepreneurship, universal design and access, and gender-based violence awareness and training.
Caxton flies the Casual Day flag
“Caxton Local Media is a proud Casual Day partner,” said Irma Green, the Caxton local newspapers’ group editor.
“We have supported Casual Day for many years and, this year, are intensifying our efforts to ensure the Casual Day message reaches as many people as possible.
“People with disabilities deserve equal opportunities and respect, and we hope the part we play in Casual Day 2023 helps promote both while putting smiles on people’s faces. Remember, a smile can bridge most barriers,” she added.
“The theme for Casual Day 2023 banks on a phenomenon neglected for too long – one that must have been known to mankind from the beginning of time: the smile,” said NCPD national director Therina Wentzel.
“The most important characteristic of a smile that the NCPD believes it can use is that it is more infectious than any disease known to man.”
She said a smile indicated the presence of love, kindness, goodwill, caring and many other positive traits in human hearts.
Smiles could trigger a positive chain reaction of wonderfully uncontrollable proportions, believed Wentzel.
Disability rights
The NCPD is an NPO that works to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and create an inclusive society in which people with disabilities can fully participate and enjoy the same rights and freedom as others.
Casual Day is the NCPD’s flagship project and contributes to funding over 700 disability sector organisations and schools. In support of Casual Day, individuals and organisations are encouraged to purchase stickers (R20 each) and specially branded merchandise before September 1 and wear them with pride on the day.
Stickers are available for a donation of R20 from Associations of and for Persons with Disabilities (APDs), government departments, schools, Alpha Pharm, BKB, ESKORT, Clicks, JAM Clothing, Jet, Loot Online, The Hub Finbond and Toys R Us or visit https://casualday.co.za/
You can also get your personalised digital Casual Day stickers via the Casual Day website (casualday.co.za). Click on ‘online shop’.
What to wear
The kindest thing you can wear is your ‘Share A Smile’ Casual Day sticker and merchandise – T-shirts, caps and bucket hats are now available. These, too, can be obtained via the Casual Day website’s online shop’ Companies and organisations wanting to make bulk purchases must click on ‘order stuff’.
Donations received from the stickers and supporter items directly benefit disability organisations throughout SA, so be sure to get yours.
Pair your sticker with bright lipstick, facepaint, retro hairdos and smile-inspired activities (how about hosting a comedy show at your school or workplace to support Casual Day?).
Tag the NCPD in your pictures on social media channels, and use the hashtag #ShareASmile #CasualDay to win prizes.
