Buy a share in hope for Christmas

Fri, 27 November 2009

Make Christmas Matter is an innovative online campaign that makes giving easier, as well as more considered. This novel online shop offers virtual gifts, like vegetable seedlings for a community food garden, or a mobility cane for a sight-impaired person. The gifts are all linked to four carefully assessed and inspiring social development projects that are listed on the South African Social Investment Exchange (SASIX).

Choosing worthy causes

Make Christmas Matter uses the SASIX intensive assessment process to select the projects that will benefit. This includes peer review panels, site visits, organisation and risk assessments, research, evaluation and detailed reporting. This way, shoppers can rest assured that their money goes towards effective, sustainable solutions to South Africa’s problems and that the donated money will be properly spent and accounted for. All organizations funded through Make Christmas Matter have to submit detailed reports on the progress and completion of their projects. Highlights from these reports are posted onto our news pages, so that our investors can track how their gifts have helped to change lives.

Let's find out more about this year's Make Christmas Matter beneficiary projects:

Building blocks for life

In the rural Umzinyathi district of KwaZulu-Natal, lies an isolated community called Mbuba. Elderly women manage the households while absent parents seek employment in the cities. Community leaders estimate that less than a quarter of the remaining adults are employed and almost half of families live below the poverty line. With only one pre-school, a primary school and no high school, children have limited access to learning and development opportunities.

The Make Christmas Matter project will install and equip an educational toy library in a secure container, improving the quality of play opportunities and providing children with constructive leisure time activities. The library will include a covered play area where facilitated play sessions will introduce educational toys, games and the library concept. Over 200 local children will be able to borrow toys from the library and teachers will have access to the equipment to complement their lessons in class.

Sowing the seeds for learners

As part of the National Curriculum, schools are expected to include environmental topics but many lack the resources, skills or information to do this. The Eco-Schools support project aims to increase awareness of the natural environment among all sectors of the community in the Midlands Meander area. Focusing on rural schools, the programme helps teachers integrate environmental education into the teaching curriculum, with emphasis on wise resource use, creativity, sustainable living and community building.

The project aims to nurture capable, confident, curious children who are sensitive to environmental issues, who have the resilience to cope with a changing world and are able to contribute positively to their communities. Make Christmas Matter gifts will provide environment and conservation learning opportunities to 122 learners and 5 educators at Dargle Primary School; establishing a food garden, a recycling programme and taking learners on conservation field trips to areas of local natural significance.

The gift of a sparkling new kitchen

There's an extraordinary nursing home in Pinelands, Cape Town, called St Josephs, who provide 24-hour nursing care to 145 chronically ill and disabled children who cannot be nursed at home. St Joseph's addresses the overall needs of each child by providing physiotherapy and formal education up to Grade 7.

This project will allow the home to upgrade their kitchen, fitting new stainless steel worktops, shelves and sinks to bring the home back into compliance with the most recent government health regulations. It will also ensure that the children in St Joseph's care receive the very best in terms of hygiene standards in food preparation.

Priceless independence

There are over 724,000 people with sight disabilities in South Africa. One of the biggest challenges they face is poverty and the lack of resources to afford the tools and helpful devices they need for daily living. The South African National Council for the Blind (SANB) provides tools such as mobility canes and Braille paper to disadvantaged people with visual impairments across the country.

The SANCB, through its national network of over 100 member organisations, has identified a need for these devices in the Free State. This project will provide mobility canes, signature guides, and liquid level indicators to 96 visually impaired people, restoring their dignity and independence.

How it works

Buying a gift is a simple three-step process:

  1. Choose a great gift from makechristmasmatter.co.za.
  2. Personalise an electronic gift card and send it to friends, family or business associates explaining what you have bought and the impact it will have.
  3. Checkout and know that your gift has just helped to change lives in South Africa.

Created by GreaterGood South Africa and sponsored by the Cadiz Foundation, Make Christmas Matter has raised over R2 million for 22 development projects ranging from a family planning programme in the Northern Cape to an environmental project that manages the rehabilitation and release of animals back into the wild.

Those who don't celebrate Christmas can still make a difference all year round by buying gifts on gifts4good.co.za for any special occasion.