Fivestar PR drives Santa Shoebox Project publicity once again

Published: August 2012

FIVESTAR PR has once again pledged its services on a pro bono basis to the Santa Shoebox Project, which kicks off on 1 September this year with an ambitious target of no less than 100 000 shoeboxes. The Cape-based PR agency has successfully driven the media campaign for this inspiring project since its inception.

The Santa Shoebox Project has over the years become a familiar brand within the media landscape, attracting a wide range of sponsors and donors across the country. It is an inspiring community initiative of the Kidz2Kidz Trust, a non-profit organization that has been collecting personalized ‘Santa Shoeboxes’ at Christmas time for thousands of children from distinctly vulnerable social backgrounds since 2006. In 2011 it collected gifts for more than 70 000 children in need, at over 620 children’s homes, crèches and educare centres across South Africa and as far as Namibia.

Janie van der Spuy, who heads up the boutique PR agency says that FIVESTAR PR is delighted to be involved with the project on an on-going basis: ‘We look forward to the project launch each year, and love the opportunity to give back by being involved in this heart-warming project. The support from the media has been nothing short of extraordinary, and I can honestly say that they have played a vital role in growing the project year on year, by spreading the word to encourage more donors to sign up. ‘

With ‘teach your child the joy of giving’ as the essence of the project, the Santa Shoebox Project is instrumental in involving people from all walks of life, especially children together with their parents, in giving to children in need who may never have received a gift at Christmas before. Parents are encouraged to involve their kids in the process of personally selecting the child (or children) to whom they pledge a gift box, and in choosing, filling, decorating and labelling each box with the recipient’s name.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN THE SANTA SHOEBOX PROJECT

To participate in this heart-warming project, simply register online, where an easy step-by-step procedure will guide you through the process.

Donors need to:

• Register online NOW as a donor at www.santashoebox.co.za
• Pledge a box when the website goes live with the recipient names - available around the 1st of September every year.
• Select your most convenient drop-off point, as well as the name of a recipient of your choice (or more than one).
• Decorate and fill an individualised gift box according to the specified guidelines.
• Label the box with the recipient’s name (labels are emailed to donors, together with confirmation of the pledge).
• Deliver the Santa Shoebox to the selected, pre-determined drop-off points on specified dates, from where the organisers dispatch the Santa Shoeboxes to the various homes and centres.