News South Africa

Donate stationery to Christmas cracker, help the disadvantaged

Peninsula Beverage Company (PenBev) and the V&A Waterfront are inviting members of the public to help them gather school stationery to donate to a number of schools in disadvantaged areas for their 2012 school year.

This initiative follows the success of the recent toy drive that enabled the two organisations to donate personalised Christmas presents to children in Elsies River.

On 28 November PenBev and the V&A Waterfront unveiled a large Coca-Cola branded Christmas Cracker at the Wheel of Excellence at the V&A Waterfront and implored the public to donate toys for a massive toy drive, the proceeds of which were donated to children at the Tehillah Community Centre in Elsies River. The generosity of citizens was so overwhelming that the drive has been extended with the vision of collecting school stationery for a number of schools in impoverished areas.

Parents can hardly afford necessities

"We are excited to be able to facilitate the donation of stationery," says Denise Green, Corporate Social Investment manager at PenBev. "Many of the children attending these schools come from poverty stricken homes where buying more than the absolute necessities for school is out of the question. For these children, receiving brightly coloured pencils, crayons and paints as well as paper or books to use them on could be as exciting as receiving a new toy."

The cracker will remain at the V&A Waterfront until 9 January 2012 and hopefully people will open their hearts and give generously by placing stationery items through the shoe box sized slot in the cracker.

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