Skip a meal and keep Operation Antifreeze’s doors open
At the end of the 21 days, donate the amount of money you would have spent on those meals to Operation Antifreeze.
Operation Antifreeze, which has been looking after the needy people in Kempton Park for 20 years, is facing its biggest challenge ever.
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, they have lost their biggest donor and could face closure within months, said Hilary Carhart, project coordinator and fund-raiser for the organisation.
“The company is now only running at 25 per cent and can no longer afford to fund us. We had to cancel all our planned fund-raisers, so as things stand now we only have enough funds to keep going for a few more months and then we will have to close our doors.”
But they have not given up. They came up with a lockdown challenge to try raise some much-needed funds.
“Let’s show this virus and the world what us South Africans are made of. That we might be locked down but we will not be kept down. That our beautiful country will pull together and our South African spirits will keep burning bright,” she said.
The people who are going to suffer the most are the poorest of the poor and non-profit and welfare organisations that reach out to those people are also suffering.
“Operation Antifreeze is a registered NPO and has been making a difference in our community for 20 years. Our 20th birthday cannot be marked by closing our doors,” added Carhart.
With the #LockdownChallenge, they challenge Kemptonians to at least once a week during lockdown skip a meal.
“We can’t go out to exercise and are going to be much less active than usual, so eating a bit less will do us all good.
“By skipping a meal we will show our compassion, standing in unity with those who are not fortunate enough to eat so well, for those who are going hungry every day and don’t know where their next meal will come from. Experiencing a bit of hunger will make us appreciate our next meal all the more, will develop a spirit of gratitude and will make us realise just how blessed we really are.”
At the end of the 21 days, donate the amount of money you would have spent on those meals to Operation Antifreeze so they can keep their doors open and continue to fight hunger and feed hope.
“Each time you skip a meal, take a photo of your empty plate and post it on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp it to friends and family and challenge them to do the same. Get creative with your photos. Let’s make the #LockdownChallenge go viral,” asked Carhart.
“If you can’t skip a meal due to health or other reasons, please donate a percentage of the money you are going to save on fuel as you won’t be driving around for 21 days.”
Tax deductible donation receipts can be issued for all donations. For more information or bank details, contact Carhart at hilary@operationantifreeze.org.za or on 072 959 7242.
