Pledges for South Africa’s favourite gift-giving initiative, the Santa Shoebox Project, opens on September 1. Under this year’s theme of ‘Share the Love’, donors will have the option to duplicate an item in their box, enabling the beneficiary child to gift that item to a friend or family member. “Enabling these kids to experience the joy of giving for themselves, enhances other benefits such as personal growth and increased self-esteem,” explained Santa Shoebox Programmes (SSP) chief executive officer Deb Zelezniak.

Typically, Santa Shoeboxes contain a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a facecloth, school supplies, a toy, sweets, and an outfit of clothing. This year, in addition to the duplicate item provided by the public, Book Dash, which creates African storybooks that anyone can freely download and distribute, will be including two books – one for the recipient and the other for them to gift to someone else. “This amplifies the sharing because a book is meant to be read together, either with a friend or by a parent or teacher.”

“Since 2006, our beloved project has reached 1 077 289 children throughout South Africa and Namibia, thanks to the generosity of its donors. In 2022, we will be positively impacting the lives of many more, and we so appreciate your help in doing so,” concluded Zelezniak. To share the love or for more information, go to https://santashoebox.org.za. People in Mopani District can drop their gifts in Hoedspruit – Rhino Convention Centre, Rotsvy Road, Hoedspruit, South Africa Date: Fri, 4 November 2022 Time: 08:00 to 15:00. Coordinator: Corne Havenga Email: corne@santashoebox.org.za Cell: 0827138778

Lana O’Neill
“I have made friends that have turned into family and made a little dent for the better in the world.” This is Nicole Weier’s take on being a volunteer for the Santa Shoebox Project. The 43-year-old personal assistant and mum of two from Johannesburg started volunteering in 2015 and is now a coordinator for the Johannesburg flagship drop-off point. This role sees her helping to manage and run the project in Central, North, and West Johannesburg.

“I found out about the Santa Shoebox Project in 2014 while googling another project and ended up pledging a few boxes,” she explained.
“When I dropped them off at Rhema Church, I was in such awe of what the team was doing I asked to sign up the next day to volunteer at the drop-off. I was so amazed at the love being spread and the magic being created that I joined the team the next year.” Nicole’s first task as a drop-off volunteer was a checker. I made every required item was in the box and that all the things were age appropriate.

When I joined the team in 2017, I volunteered in Shoebox First Aid, where we add items if any of the eight required items are missing or swap out age-inappropriate items.” A daycare centre in the middle of Zandspruit informal settlement is where Nicole got her first real taste of the celebration of smiles the project is famous for.

“This was at the end of 2015. The principal was a sweet go-go who just loved looking after the little ones in her care, even though some parents could not pay her. The place was neat and the children were happy. We handed out the Santa Shoeboxes and the children’s excitement was through the roof. What amazed me the most was some of the children’s excitement for not the toy or clothes or sweets, but the toothbrush and soap. This stayed in my heart.”

Nicole believes the reason the project has gone from strength to strength is the fact that it focuses on the children. “They are the most important people to Santa Shoebox Project. Also, our amazing donors believe in what we do as much as we do, which is another reason the project has soared over the years.” The project reached its millionth child in 2020. As the Santa Shoebox Project’s national sponsorship, marketing, and regional manager for Gauteng, North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo Margie Kostelac reiterates volunteers like Nicole are at the heart of the Santa Shoebox Project.

“My working background is in the hospitality industry, which I loved, but I was retrenched 16 years ago. I needed to keep busy. One day a friend sent me an email about the Santa Shoebox Project, so I got my mum, who had Alzheimer’s, involved in knitting beanies to donate to the project. We filled an apple box with beanies and went to drop them off with a woman in Johannesburg.

I was astonished to find the woman’s house filled with shoeboxes and said, ‘it looks like you need help. The rest is history! That was the start of my journey with the Santa Shoebox Project,” Margie explained. “Being a volunteer-based organisation, volunteers are a lifeline who keep the various organs of the project running to bring the magic and spread the love. Whether they are donors, team members, or drop-off volunteers, simply spending that one hour doing something helps spread that joy even further.”

For Nicole, the celebrations (handing out of shoeboxes) are a highlight of being involved. “It is amazing to see the joy on the children’s faces. I also love being part of the Santa Shoebox family and meeting amazing people. Believe it or not, one of my other loves is the craziness of drop-off weekend when we get to see the thousands of creative boxes the donors have come up with,” she said.