As a convenient collection point for the socially impactful Santa Shoebox Project, Gateway Theatre of Shopping is inviting donors to drop off their wrapped and packed shoeboxes as the mall aims to collect 2,400 Santa Shoeboxes for the charity this year.
Gateway’s Marketing Manager, Michelle Shelley says the mall’s collaboration with the Santa Shoebox Project started in 2020 and, since then, Gateway has collected 6,202 gift boxes from generous donors.
“We’d love to grow that this year as we play a part in connecting donors and children in need in communities around us. Last year we collected 2,100 boxes at Gateway. Packing and decorating a gift box for someone whose name you know and for whom you can buy age and gender-appropriate items, is a wonderful, personal gesture.”
Santa Shoebox Project CEO, Debbie Zelezniak, says, “Santa Shoebox Project donors in Umhlanga are able to pledge support and contribute to lasting change in the lives of children in nearby communities. It is enormously heartwarming to see Gateway play such a valuable role in the lives of children in need.”
In its eighteenth year, Santa’s Shoebox Project has connected more than one million children in South Africa with generous donors who have made the effort to create a shoebox of items just for them. Pledging is open on the Santa Shoebox website where donors can find a beneficiary to connect with.
Over the years, the organisation has devised a list of the best items that should be included in the gift box. More can be added, but all items on the basic list should be included and must be new and age-appropriate:
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Bar of soap
• Washcloth
• An outfit of clothing
• Educational supplies
• Sweets
• A toy
Donors are invited to use Gateway’s ‘drop & go’ station (at the mall’s Info desk) throughout October, or to make a date for Gateway’s weekend collection drive from 26 to 28 October, when a special collection zone will be set up next to Ocean Basket on the Palm Boulevard.
For more info on how to pledge a gift box, visit www.santashoebox.org.za.
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