Santa Shoebox brings joy to 70 000 children

Janie van der Spuy who heads up Fivestar PR, the agency responsible for the project publicity, says they have received unprecedented support from the media this year. "We could not have done it without the media. It's a project that really speaks to people, and we have had incredible support and enthusiasm from the media, ranging from the community newspapers and glossy magazines, to many bloggers and tweeters. They have all played an essential role in spreading the word to encourage more donors to sign up from all the corners of South Africa."

Setting sights on 100 000 boxes

Among the media to give the Santa Shoebox Project a unanimous thumbs-up is Glamour magazine, who voted national project co-ordinator Irene Pieters and founder Dee Boehner winners in the category 'Most Inspiring Women in Charity in South Africa' in the Glamour Women of the Year Awards this year.

The 2011 project is ending off on a high note with a number of Santa Shoebox Celebrations taking place at 620 homes and care centres in each of the nine provinces. Now Pieters and her team are setting their sights on an ambitious figure of 100 000 boxes in 2012.

Says Pieters: "This year was a milestone for us, with the project more than doubling in size, but we would love to top this by another 30 000 Santa Shoeboxes next year. We have added many small towns to our geographical reach this year, which is heartening, but hope to expand further into more remote rural areas next year. This year schools and centres stretching from Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, Darling, Mafikeng, Rustenberg and Bloemfontein were included for the first time - thanks to the dedicated volunteer co-ordinators in each area."