CHOC Lodge in PE to accommodate mothers of cancer patients

Charmaine Vosloo (Branch manager of CHOC PE) shows cancer patient, Tesmia Goede, the new CHOC Lodge where her mother will be staying while she undergoes cancer treatment in the CHOC Paediatric Oncology Ward at Dora Nginza Hospital in Port Elizabeth. The lodge can accommodate 27 mothers and their children.

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"Previously parents had to wait in the cold early morning, from as early as 4am for the hospital to open to ensure that they are first in the queue to get treatment otherwise they had no transport fees to go home and return the next day for a subsequent visit to the doctor upon request. Now the parents and the children have facilities available at the hospital when they require it", says Branch Manager of CHOC PE, Charmaine Vosloo.

The CHOC Lodge on the second floor of Building K at Dora Nginza Hospital can accommodate 11 teenagers and their moms along with 16 toddlers and their moms, complete with kitchen, laundry, entertainment and bathroom facilities. For the security and comfort of the parents there will be a lodge manager on duty 24/7 along with a relief manager. The units are equipped with burglar guards and a hall has been cleared where parents can access the CHOC ward without going outside of the hospital. This hallway is equipped with CCTV cameras to ensure the safety of the parents and their children.

"Even though the lodge is fully operational now, they still require almost half a million rand to maintain the lodge annually. For this reason we have decided to make CHOC PE the beneficiary for the 2013 Discovery Algoa FM Big Walk", says Managing Director of Algoa FM, Dave Tiltmann.

Jody Foster, head of sponsorships at Discovery said, "We are cognisant of our responsibility to the broader society and our ability to impact positively on the lives of people beyond our members. With this in mind, we are humbled and proud to play a role in the creation of the CHOC Lodge."

The walk is taking place on Saturday, 26 October 2013 at the NMMU Cricket Fields in 2nd Avenue, Summerstrand, including a 4km and 8km walk.

Walkers can expect to make a day of the event with live entertainment by Melissa Allison including many healthy and fun activities.

Entry fee for both the 8km and 4km starts at 8am for only R35 with an entry fee of R10 for all children under the age of 18 and free entrance for children in prams. Children under 18 who would like to receive a goodie bag and t-shirt will need to pay the full adult rate to participate in the walk.

Medals will be awarded to the first 7500 walkers to complete the event. Goodie bags will be awarded to the first 7000 participants and t-shirts to the first 6000 participants to register for the event.

Entries open on Monday, 2 September and entry forms will be available from Sportsman's Warehouse, Brian Bands, Action Sports, Sports World, the Footballer, Brookets Sports, all three Virgin Active gyms in Port Elizabeth as well as the Algoa FM office. There will also be an online entry available via www.algoafm.co.za.