With the incredible warmth of Ubuntu in the Helderberg area, a special event of gifting 2 000 pairs of brand-new women’s shoes to 24 charities took place on the Somerset House Primary School sport grounds a fortnight ago.
Walk with a Purpose is a shoe donation initiative that was started by a non-profit organisation called the GraySwan Charitable Trust (GSCT) in 2016.
The GSCT aspires to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the less privileged. Since 2016, they have distributed more than 42 500 shoes.
On Saturday, Walk with a Purpose was supported by the incredible Out the Box team, another project under the umbrella of the GraySwan Charitable Trust.
To pull the Big Shoe Drive Through off, the Grade 6 and Grade 7 students of Somerset House demonstrated their teamwork and community spirit, by helping to unpack and sort thousands of boxes in a record time.
With 24 beneficiaries made up of NPOs, care homes, school communities and healthcare workers from 12 regions across Cape Town arriving at the drive-through, it was a very exciting and dynamic afternoon.
Cars arrived from as far as Hout Bay, Vrygrond, Delft, Grabouw and Durbanville, with all local areas in Helderberg and Winelands being well supported.
The shoe drive would not have been able without the generous shoe donation of Intershu, a loyal supporter of Walk with a Purpose over the last few years has been.
The SpaceLabs removals team were instrumental in transporting this huge volume of footwear, and Rola Toyota supplied the finishing touch of a giant bow to mark this wonderful gift for thousands of special women in our communities.
The amazing teachers and children of Somerset House were instrumental to the success of the day.
The GSCT discovered that the finest way to ensure sustainable giving is to not only give funds, but to personally be involved, whether to a greater or lesser extent, it said in a statement.
The GSCT team get to know those who benefit from their funding; those who steward their money, those who daily are committed to go into the dark, broken places of communities to restore hope and life.
“When the less privileged has a name, a face, a dream, one realises that when you have more than you need, it is remarkably more joyous to build a longer table, instead of a higher fence,” they said.
