The race organisers of the Pretoria SPAR Women’s Challenge have tasked the Contracts Centre at Irene Homes in Pretoria East with packing 25 000 goodie bags in time for the race taking place on 29^th August 2015.

The Contracts Centre at Irene Homes is a registered protective day centre providing a safe environment in which to serve around 69 mentally and sometimes physically disabled women who enjoy the social interaction and daily activities of the centre’s workshop.

The goodie bag packing starts on 1 July and the team will work furiously to complete this massive task on time. 

“Our residents in the contract workshop are hyped about packing so many goodie bags for the race,” says Florence Mesa, Fundraiser for Irene Homes. “The residents feel privileged to be doing the packing for the SPAR Women’s Challenge.”

TradeUnipoint, one of this year’s main race sponsors, has handed over a donation of R20 000 to SPAR to cover entry fees and the cost of buying running shoes for Irene Homes participants.

“This year 20 ladies from the Homes will be taking part in the race. Every year we choose different ladies who are capable of walking the 5km. They are excited and are training every day in preparation for the race,” says Florence. “Our residents cannot afford entry fees and running shoes and so having these sponsored means a lot to them.”

Paul Edkins, one of TradeUnipoint’s Directors, said they are immensely proud to be associated with an initiative such as the SPAR Woman’s Challenge which aligns with their company vision to assist the less fortunate in any way possible.

“Our aim is to get them out and active and we look forward to spending race day with them” Edkins concluded.

“I would like to say a special thank you to TradeUnipoint for this sponsorship. In addition, we would all like to thank SPAR for contracting the packing of goodie bags to us every year. SPAR’s involvement makes a huge contribution to our continued fundraising activities,” said Florence.