Lions Club came saw and conquered hunger
Elindi van den Heever from Fourways-based organisation is grateful for community support in their fight against hunger.
In April, the Fourways Lions Club had launched a donation drive, seeking contributions to help fill their ‘jars of hope’. The aim of this initiative was to provide food to several underprivileged families in the Randburg area.
Elindi van den Heever, from the club said it is all thanks to the overwhelming support and generosity of the community. She said the club was able to achieve its mission in a very short span of time.
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The donations received had helped the Fourways Lions Club to fill up numerous jars of hope, which were then distributed to hundreds of families in need, providing them with much-needed relief during these challenging times.
Front: Zelda Williams, Deborah Manfredo, and Desiree Olivier.
Van den Heever believes that these kinds of initiatives are a wonderful example of how a community can come together to make a positive impact on the lives of those who are less fortunate.
She said together with Beanies for Beings the club, they were able to support over 150 families with food. The organisations which are determined to instil change in communities, have been working together since 2020.
“We are very thankful for the financial and physical donations that were given to us to fulfil this need. We are extremely grateful for the help we received from the community. Knowing that we were able to support over a 150 families with food is definitely a heartwarming experience. These 150 jars can feed up to 900 people.”
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When asked if they have met their target, Van den Heever said they did exactly that even though there are always more families and mouths to feed.
“We want to fill more jars and continue to provide people with meals. So, we are pleading with the community members to keep the donations coming. We had a lot of fun packing the jars and it is always a very rewarding experience to give them away to disadvantaged families.”
She said they call this initiative Jars of Hope because it is a jar of dry food that can be mixed with water and provides a nutritious meal for between four to six people.
“The significance of this initiative is to provide food for under-privileged and in-need households. It gives them all the ingredients, and all that is needed is water and a mechanism to cook the meal. One jar costs around R32 but can feed many people. The ingredients as such hold a significant quantity of the nutrients required for a person’s daily dietary requirements.”
Van den Heever added that they are always in need of non-perishable food items such as rice, lentils, soup mix, tin food, toiletries and now for winter – blankets, jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves.
“The charity is also in need of donations for their Gogo Project for Mother’s Day in May. They need a pack of spoils such as a 200g pack of biscuits, 1kg sugar, a pack of 80 tea bags and 400ml body lotion.”
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