Post office strike undermines bandana sales
Bandanas are sold to assist those with life-threatening illnesses.
Efforts to help people with life-threatening leukemia and serious blood disorders have suffered a setback because of the recent post office strike.
A total of 1 800 boxes containing 90 000 bandanas meant to be sold to raise money did not reach their destinations, The Sunflower Fund, a non-profit organisation helping such patients, said this week.
The boxes containing the bandanas had to be shipped to various Pick n Pay stores across the country, where people could buy them at R25 each.
The Post Office strike meant that the bandanas could not be sent to the various stores, and were simply left at a central depot. After the strike was resolved, the bandanas were sent back to The Sunflower Fund’s head office in Cape Town. The bandanas could no longer be sold in Pick n Pay stores, as National Bandana Day (12 October) had passed, and the 2014 project had finished.
“All the bandanas are now being delivered to our offices in Cape Town, and we will sell them from here,” said Lauren Corlett, national marketing & PR specialist for The Sunflower Fund.
“We have made an urgent appeal to the public to buy these bandanas, as they are all in support of The Sunflower Fund. The response we have received from not just companies, but individuals as well has been incredible. Shortly after we sent out the request that people buy these bandanas, we sold 200 of the 1 800 boxes to various individuals and large companies.”
Corlett said though the initial response to The Sunflower Fund’s call had been a success, the organisation still had 1 600 boxes of bandanas that had not been sold. This equated to R2 million rand in unsold bandanas. This was money that the organisation could not afford to lose.
All money raised through National Bandana Day each year goes towards paying for DNA tests for new donors to join The South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR).
Anyone interested in purchasing some of the bandanas at R25 each, could call The Sunflower Fund toll-free on 0800-12-10-82, or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za.
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