A large bakkie load of stationery has arrived at Hotel Hope, but for the children who will use it, the donation represents far more than pens, books and school supplies.

The stationery was donated by Campus Square as part of its commitment to supporting the community, with centre manager Rachel Mabena visiting Hotel Hope to see how the items would benefit the children. Mabena said the opportunity came after she reached out to community contacts to identify an organisation that could benefit from a stationery donation. Hotel Hope was recommended, and the centre was more than willing to step in. “We are part of the community, and we also love working with the community,” she said.

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For Mabena, stationery was a meaningful choice because of the role education plays in shaping children’s futures. “These kids are our future,” she said, adding that even something as simple as a book could make a lasting difference.

A passionate reader, Mabena said she hoped the donation could encourage children to develop a love of reading and learning.

The stationery will be distributed among the 40 children currently in Hotel Hope’s care, who range from newborns to 15 years old. The organisation also has its own Montessori preschool, meaning the donation will support children at different stages of their education. The donation included preschool and school materials as well as reading material and other stationery, which was being sorted to ensure it reached the children who needed it most. Hotel Hope CEO and founder Oliver Quambusch said the head of the Montessori preschool was particularly excited about the new resources that would soon become available to the children.
Quambusch said the organisation was grateful to Campus Square for recognising its needs and choosing to support the children. He described it as the first collaboration between Hotel Hope and Campus Square in the organisation’s 18-year history. Hotel Hope has previously benefited from initiatives connected to businesses at Campus Square, including a supermarket sweep through Pick n Pay, but Quambusch said the stationery donation marked an important new relationship with the centre itself.

For Hotel Hope, the significance of such support extends beyond the items being donated. “We often say we love what we are doing, but we can’t do it on our own,” Quambusch said.

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He described the support as an example of the wider community coming together to help raise and support children. “It takes a village to raise a child,” he said, “and Campus Square, at this moment, has been the village.”

Mabena hopes the relationship will continue to grow, saying Campus Square would consider Hotel Hope for future opportunities to donate.

For both organisations, the visit was not simply about delivering stationery; it was about building a relationship between a community shopping centre and an organisation caring for children, and showing how small acts of support can become part of something bigger.

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