A donation drive is linked to the Christmas lights display in Douglasdale
Handmade Christmas decorations by Douglasdale residents will be hung out for community members and residents to welcome the festive season while donating to a local charity.
Homemade Christmas decorations will be put up along the houses of the Pipers Road community in Douglasdale to bring in the holiday cheer.
From December 3 to January 3 next year between 19:00 and 22:00, families can head to Douglasdale on Pipers Road to make a donation to local organisations in the spirit of Christmas.
A resident in the area and community member involved with the lights, Richard Pea said with the lights also being put up in the street, donations can be dropped off at Santa’s Bag on the street with toys, clothes, or any necessities for a Dainfern-based charity called Dainfern Cares and a local church.
“We’re welcoming everyone to drive in and drive out to drop items off but [they] can also enjoy the Christmas lights. I’m involved in this drive for the children. What I saw last time I dropped off the items and I want to support Dainfern Cares as well,” he said.
Dainfern Cares was started in the slightly heavier times of Covid, when Greg Brown organised a number of residents in his community to try and make a change in their neighbourhood.
“We started networking with people inside the gym when we started talking about doing something. We ended up with a group of about 60 to 70 people and then we did a couple of projects from there. We support an organisation called Mother of Peace based in Northriding, and run a soup kitchen in Cosmo City,” he said.
“The motivation was just to expose people to the fact that most people are actually quite privileged, and you don’t realise it until you actually get out there and do stuff. For us, we can make a mindset change and that was the motivation behind starting the charity.”
The charity has also run a blanket drive and organised food buckets for different communities, and now hopes to raise funds to continue its efforts to give back to the community.
Pea added that Vered Estates also came onboard to sponsor money for the drive-in where items will be bought to go towards the charity and church.
A number of fun activities are also planned during the time the lights are on. Two themed days are planned where community members can, on December 17, come dressed as Father Christmas where there are cash prizes and gifts to be won. December 18 is another themed day where everyone must come dressed in their pyjamas to enjoy the Christmas light.
Brown said Gracepoint Church could also be the recipient of the donations as he is involved there as well.
Details: Richard Pea 082 907 6767; Greg Brown 082 785 8583.
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