Wimpy’s Brekkie for The Books supports Penreach’s Literacy Programme
As the Lowveld gradually emerged from a tough lockdown, Wimpy SA Grove and Wimpy SA Riverside Mall joined hands with Penreach in its A Brekkie for the Books promotion.
Aimed at creating awareness and raising money for the Penreach Asifundze Literacy and Numeracy Programme, customers could opt for a value-for-money R30 breakfast, of which R10 was donated to the programme.
Penreach works tirelessly to provide under-resourced rural communities in Mpumalanga and beyond with reading material for children from preschool to senior primary level.
The programme addresses the shortage of affordable and culturally relevant books and resources in disadvantaged households, schools and community clubs. These books are often the first book children ever own.
Through this initiative, more than half a million books, as well as teaching materials and resources, have been made available to thousands of schools, communities and educators.
ALSO READ: Lowveld High maths teacher obtains his PhD
Books from the Penreach Books in Homes programme reaches 16 000 children across Mpumalanga weekly through its community based Reading Camps, where anyone can volunteer to host informal reading groups for kids in their community.
Book banks and training are provided to volunteers through generous funders of the programme. Anette Wolhuter, Wimpy Riverside and The Grove’s operational coach, said they were delighted to get involved as the initiative is aligned with Wimpy’s ideals of empowerment through education.
“Community involvement and children are close to our hearts, and we feel childhood education is highly neglected,” she explained. “We were happy to raise money for Penreach.”
Wimpy’s parent company, Famous Brands, was equally enthusiastic and gave the promotion its full support – as did its customers.
From July to November, Wimpy patrons ordered 1 218 book breakfasts, enabling them to make a donation of R12 180 towards the Books in Homes programme – enough to sponsor a print run of more than 2 000 books and creating multiple reading opportunities for each book distributed.
Wimpy’s support goes beyond that, though. Every child who visits one of the two branches is given a book to take home.
ALSO READ: Style and poise displayed at Master Models graduation ceremony
“With our play areas out are of bounds because of Covid-19, we’re making good use of the books,” Anette said. Penreach appreciates the support it gets from within the business community.
“We want to give a big shout out to Wimpy SA Grove and Riverside Mall for partnering with us on the Brekkie for The Books promotion. With the support of donors like Wimpy we are creating a literate South Africa,” said Ronald Chanetta, Penreach programme manager.
“Sponsors and donors allow us to increase our reach, and ensure every child has access to quality reading material at school and in their homes.”
Get involved
Penreach Books in Homes has 93 English, 13 dual languages, 21 SiSwati, 40 Afrikaans, 17 IsiXhosa, 11 SeTswana, 8 XiTsonga and 11 IsiZulu titles, all graded and age-appropriate for foundation phase learners. The books are available at R6 each. To see available titles, visit https://penreach.co.za/books-in-homes/ To place an order, get in touch via penreachbooksinhomes@penreach.co.za or on 072-105-8838, To become a partner, send a mail to partners@penreach.co.za.
ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS: Out-of-the-box performance for out-of-the-box year
