Good Samaritan donates 50 wheelchairs for 50 people for his 50th birthday and Casual Day
Lead SA has teamed up with Casual Day to honour the birthday desire of a guy whose wish it was to hand out 50 wheelchairs to 50 people, rather than have a 50th birthday party, to honour his wonderful grandmother.
Organisers of Casual Day responded to the call to facilitate the handover and immediately sprang into action at the Sunshine Centre Association in Craighall. Sunshine is one of the 300 community-based organisations that render services in the field of disability and benefit from the sales of Casual Day stickers. Sunshine Centre Association has three centres: Craighall, Germiston and Eldorado Park.
Co-ordinators Shannon O’Keefe and Michael Ngobeni were excited to receive the first five wheelchairs – another ten visits will take place all over South Africa during the next couple of months.
They speak with passion about their love for the work they do, “One of the greatest challenges for organisations like this is the payment of school fees. What we have found in all three centres is that 90 percent of parents we have contact with are single mother-households who have been left to take care of a child. There is still a lot of stigma attached to having a child with a disability. Often children are misdiagnosed in hospitals with moms saying that they feel there could be something wrong with their child.
So we facilitate a referral where occupational therapists and doctors can make the best diagnosis,” says Shannon.
“Often parents are not in a position to pay school fees at our centres and we do not like to turn them away,” states Ngobeni, “So we are always grateful to donors who would like to adopt a child. Catchment areas include Diepsloot, Berea, Cosmo, Thokoza and Vosloorus.”
The easiest and most convenient contribution that readers – businesses, churches and groups – can make is to draw Casual Day stickers from Sunshine Centre Association for Casual Day on Friday 5th September.
Casual Day organisers thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and were honoured to facilitate the first handover of these five wheelchairs. The birthday guy wishes to remain anonymous, but he will receive all the footage shot of the handovers.
In the meantime wear your sticker on Friday 5th September! To celebrate Casual Day’s 20th birthday just dress UP, not down in our colour for the year, dazzle blue.
How can you help?
Parents, friends and families can help by asking the people they work for if the company can participate. All they need to do is get permission for the staff to participate. You can also ask your local shops and companies in your area if they would like to participate. Please remember that whoever you give the stickers to is liable for the cost of the sticker if they lose it!
Where do you get the stickers?
Sunshine Centre Association on 011 642 2005
Twitter: @CasualDay_SA
#BringouttheBling
#CasualDay
