The 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day Initiative handed over hand-knit blankets to the residents of SAVF Ons Hulde Home on July 1.

This initiative, which has been in existence for 12 years and collects and distributes blankets to those in need, has donated over 170 000 blankets in 11 years.

Each blanket is handmade with love and has a label sewn in where the receiver can see where it came from, and donors can track where it went.

The real star of the show, however, was Granny Sheila Marriotte. As an ambassador for 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day, she will celebrate her 90th birthday next year and started pulling old jerseys apart in order to get wool to knit blankets.

She got 26 other volunteers to help and has even taught children to knit the blankets. In her first year with the initiative, she made and donated 67 blankets. In all her time with the initiative, she has made and donated over 1 000 blankets, 20 of them for the year so far.

Around 46 blankets were handed out to the residents of SAVF Ons Hulde Home. Jaco Lötter from the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day Initiative, as well as Carolyn Steyn, Bridget van Oerle, and Sharon Barkhuizen, assisted with the handover.