The end of November is always a special time of year for the Steyn City Foundation (www.SteynCity.co.za), as it spreads the joy of the festive season with Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot, its flagship initiative. This year promises to be even more memorable, however, as the project celebrates its tenth anniversary.
“From the very beginning, Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot occupied a special place in our hearts,” comments Steyn City Properties CEO Giuseppe Plumari. “Many of our employees live in Diepsloot, so the gifts we give their children through Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot is our way of saying thank you for their hard work.”
Plumari says that he is proud of the way the initiative has evolved to answer the most pressing needs of families in the area, while also making sure that the special spirit of Christmas is part of their lives at this time. This year’s project is no different: bearing in mind that 2020 and 2021 have been especially challenging for most from a financial point of view, the Steyn City Foundation took care to discuss learners’ needs with principals from participating schools. In line with their recommendations, learners in Grades 1 to 3 will receive flip files, colouring books and crayons, while those Grades 3 to 7 will receive maths instruments and calculators. These goodies will be placed inside school bags with other treats.
Learners will also receive food packages to be shared with their families over Christmas. These parcels have been made possible through a donation of R4 million by Auto & General Insurance.
“We have a number of impactful programmes in place to enhance the livelihoods of individuals in our neighbouring community of Diepsloot, and have supported Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot for the past decade. Covid-19 as well as the July unrest has caused drastic increases in household and child hunger, as well as food insecurity. We continue to play our part to assist those in need,” says Ricardo Coetzee, Head of Auto & General Insurance.
Of course, the festive season should also be just that – festive – and, with this in kind, the Steyn City Foundation has ordered a massive cake, measuring 1,8m x 1,2m, so that the learners can join in the Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot tenth anniversary celebrations. Meanwhile, much-loved Idols presenter ProVerb will be adding a dash of celebrity flair to the proceedings.
Plumari acknowledges that it’s not only the learners and their families who benefit from Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot – the project has an important job creation element, too. “The bags for learners in the foundation phase (Grades 1-3) were manufactured by a small entity called Just Bags. Their participation in the project gives us a chance to support local small business and stimulate the local economy. Meanwhile, bags for Grades 3 to 7 were made by the women of Uzwelo, creating vital employment for this community in Kwa-Zulu Natal.”
Principal Ramarumo of Muzomuhle School indicated that the community is deeply appreciative of the opportunity to take part in Delivering Happiness to Diepsloot year in year out. “It is a great pleasure to work with the Foundation and witness first-hand its endless determination to ‘deliver happiness’ to the children of Diepsloot. We love, admire and appreciate the generosity of the Foundation,” he says.
“We consider this tenth anniversary a true milestone – and look forward to celebrating many more with the children of Diepsloot,” Plumari concludes.
For more information, visit www.SteynCity.co.za
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Steyn City.
Issued by:
Grapevine Communications
Tel 011 469 0705
Email: office@grapevinecommunications.co.za
