Calling All Santa Shoeboxers - Get Your Free Shoebox Here
The annual drive for shoeboxes filled with gifts and destined for underprivileged children is underway and Stor-Age is involved once again. "We have been part of the project for a number of years now and the knowledge that we are 'doing good' is worth far more than the effort we put in to make sure the initiative remains as successful as it has been." Notes Chris Oosthuizen, GM Sales & Marketing at Stor-Age Self Storage. In fact 'doing good' is the theme for Santa Shoebox this year.
"Santa Shoebox Project National Project Co-coordinator, Irené Pieters: ‘Our focus this year is really about ‘giving for good’. We want to do good by giving (good) top quality gift boxes to (good) deserving children – some of whom have never received a gift at Christmas time before, to create an overwhelmingly good experience that benefits them - for good. Our Virtual Boxes will enable us to deliver top quality gifts to many more children, and through our pipeline projects and Legacy Fund we can really make a sustainable difference in the lives of children, especially those living in desolate rural communities. That is really what the Santa Shoebox Project is all about.’"- THE SANTA SHOEBOX PROJECT DELIVERS ON ‘GIVING FOR GOOD MEDIA RELEASE.
Last year Stor-Age provided 10 000 shoeboxes at no charge for those looking to support the project, "...Stor-Age has been fantastic in providing us with storage space for all the things that we need to store throughout the year. They also acted as a pick-up point for empty shoeboxes which become, really, a rare commodity at this time of the year…" says Pieters. It is clear with the number of requests coming in that the need for shoeboxes is great and once again Stor-Age will be providing 10 000 shoeboxes available at any Stor-Age store nationwide.
In addition to the shoeboxes Stor-Age stores nationwide are used as drop-off points for completed shoeboxes, where the Stor-Age vans will then distribute them to where they are needed. Last year Stor-Age received and delivered over 8 000 completed shoeboxes to the CTICC where the main collection point for Cape Town was hosted. "We are in a position this year to assist with the collection of shoeboxes again, as the only self storage company in South Africa with a truly national footprint, we are offering our stores as collection points, where we can take receipt of, store and the deliver the precious cargo, ensuring that it is easier than ever for the public to get involved and also to support an amazing initiative such as the Santa Shoebox Project." Notes Oosthuizen.
Santa Shoebox National Project Manager, Debbie Zelezniak, said “Stor-Age off course has been instrumental… we needed a place to store our stuff, which we can’t run the project without.” Throughout the project, and for months leading up to the event, Santa Shoebox and volunteer co-ordinators from across South Africa visited their self storage units where all the paraphernalia that you would expect for some festive cheer were stored. Stor-Age staff were quickly caught up in the excitement and a number of them volunteered their own time to assist where possible. This year the Stor-Age staff will all undertake specialised training from Santa Shoebox co-ordinators in order to receive the donated shoeboxes and mark them for their specific drop-off locations.
For more information and to get involved visit the Santa Shoebox website and stay tuned to the Stor-Age Facebook and Stor-Age Twitter page for announcements on when you can collect your shoeboxes. Watch the video of the Stor-Age / Santa Shoebox Project 2015 to see how we were involved.
"Santa Shoebox Project National Project Co-coordinator, Irené Pieters: ‘Our focus this year is really about ‘giving for good’. We want to do good by giving (good) top quality gift boxes to (good) deserving children – some of whom have never received a gift at Christmas time before, to create an overwhelmingly good experience that benefits them - for good. Our Virtual Boxes will enable us to deliver top quality gifts to many more children, and through our pipeline projects and Legacy Fund we can really make a sustainable difference in the lives of children, especially those living in desolate rural communities. That is really what the Santa Shoebox Project is all about.’"- THE SANTA SHOEBOX PROJECT DELIVERS ON ‘GIVING FOR GOOD MEDIA RELEASE.
Over 8 000 completed shoeboxes were delivered by Stor-Age
Last year Stor-Age provided 10 000 shoeboxes at no charge for those looking to support the project, "...Stor-Age has been fantastic in providing us with storage space for all the things that we need to store throughout the year. They also acted as a pick-up point for empty shoeboxes which become, really, a rare commodity at this time of the year…" says Pieters. It is clear with the number of requests coming in that the need for shoeboxes is great and once again Stor-Age will be providing 10 000 shoeboxes available at any Stor-Age store nationwide.
Donors drop-off completed Santa Shoeboxes at Stor-Age
In addition to the shoeboxes Stor-Age stores nationwide are used as drop-off points for completed shoeboxes, where the Stor-Age vans will then distribute them to where they are needed. Last year Stor-Age received and delivered over 8 000 completed shoeboxes to the CTICC where the main collection point for Cape Town was hosted. "We are in a position this year to assist with the collection of shoeboxes again, as the only self storage company in South Africa with a truly national footprint, we are offering our stores as collection points, where we can take receipt of, store and the deliver the precious cargo, ensuring that it is easier than ever for the public to get involved and also to support an amazing initiative such as the Santa Shoebox Project." Notes Oosthuizen.
Some of the Stor-Age volunteers at the CTICC drop-off event
Santa Shoebox National Project Manager, Debbie Zelezniak, said “Stor-Age off course has been instrumental… we needed a place to store our stuff, which we can’t run the project without.” Throughout the project, and for months leading up to the event, Santa Shoebox and volunteer co-ordinators from across South Africa visited their self storage units where all the paraphernalia that you would expect for some festive cheer were stored. Stor-Age staff were quickly caught up in the excitement and a number of them volunteered their own time to assist where possible. This year the Stor-Age staff will all undertake specialised training from Santa Shoebox co-ordinators in order to receive the donated shoeboxes and mark them for their specific drop-off locations.
For more information and to get involved visit the Santa Shoebox website and stay tuned to the Stor-Age Facebook and Stor-Age Twitter page for announcements on when you can collect your shoeboxes. Watch the video of the Stor-Age / Santa Shoebox Project 2015 to see how we were involved.
Posted by Stor-Age Self Storage - 09 October 2015 | Charity