Help Santa Shoebox Project spread love with team pledges

This August, as the Santa Shoebox Project (SSP) marks its 20th year of spreading love and magic across South Africa, it officially invites offices, book clubs, school communities, and everyone’s Saturday braai circle to gather their people and start a Team Pledge benefiting children all around the country.

Throughout August, ahead of individual public pledges opening on September 1, Team Pledges allow groups to commit to a batch of 20 or more boxes.

This collective effort is what sports fans call “gees” and what South Africa’s most beloved children’s charity calls “the joy of giving”.

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The sentiment behind every pledge is captured in the campaign theme #WhatAPledgeStarts. For a child who has learned not to ask for much, the first surprise is often that the whole box belongs to them.

The gift box they receive is beautifully decorated, their name is on the label, the new set of clothes is their size, and the toy was chosen for where they’re at right now.

There is nothing borrowed, nothing handed down, and nothing to return when the day is over – just one beautiful certainty: Yes. This really is for you, child.

“A pledge is a promise made to a specific child. When a team chooses their children by name, age, and gender, they aren’t just shopping for supplies.

“They are creating an experience where a child in their community they’ve never met, feels important. Long after the toothpaste is finished and the sweets are gone, the memory remains.

“Children carry the feeling that the world is generous and good, and that there is a future to dream about. And one day when they are all grown up, they might even be in a position to do the same for another child,” said Santa Shoebox Project CEO Deb Zelezniak.

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Every Santa Shoebox contains eight specified items that perform a vital role in a child’s life:
• Soap, a wash cloth, toothpaste and a toothbrush to protect health and dignity.
• New clothes that fit the child receiving them.
• Educational supplies to make participation at school possible.
• A toy and sweets to honour the part of childhood that simply deserves delight.

Teams are encouraged to choose a leader, register their support on the Santa Shoebox website, and divide the names to share the shopping.

This process turns months of planning into every child’s “full-faced grin”, when they hold up their treasures for everyone to see.

As part of #OurBeautifulStory, Santa Shoebox also reminds supporters that they can maximise their impact by choosing the Santa Shoebox Project as their cause on the Woolies app (MyDifference), supporting the project’s legacy work at no extra cost, every time they shop.

So far, the Santa Shoebox Project has reached more than 1.5 million children since 2006, and it has also just finished its eighth school build in Maruping in the Northern Cape.

To register a team and start your pledge, visit www.santashoebox.org.za/team-pledges/