The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has kicked off its 2019 “Show you care” campaign with an ambitious fundraising drive to raise R100 000 over a three-month period to help key NGO partners further their invaluable work with the homeless in the Central City.
The annual “Show you care” campaign supports the CCID Social Development department’s efforts to ease the plight of the homeless community during the city’s bitterly cold and wet winter months. The CCID has already rolled out its Winter Readiness campaign, and has distributed thousands of care bags, shoes and raincoats to NGOs in the CBD, subsidised beds and provided blankets and mattress protectors, supported medical organisations with additional equipment, and distributed and subsidised extra food to organisations that feed those in need.
The “Show you care” campaign will go a step further in giving hope and dignity to the homeless: funds raised will be donated to partner NGOs to enable them to continue their work with the CBD’s homeless community. Many of these places provide shelter, food, clothing and social services to those who find themselves destitute and down on their luck.
The campaign is driven through SnapScan, which makes it easy to support. The public can look out for the code and details of how to donate on the CCID’s social media pages, on posters which will soon be up around the CBD and on more than 300 “table talkers” in over 200 participating retailers, restaurants and hotels around the Central City which will display them in their venues.
Pat Eddy, CCID Social Development manager, notes that while the goal is ambitious, they are confident it is attainable if everyone steps up and helps out. “We are asking members of the public to make a life-changing donation, whether it is big or small. We know that R100 000 is a lot of money to raise over just three months, but we also know that as cliché as it may sound, every bit helps.
“If everyone scans the code off the “table talkers” at participating restaurants, retailers and hotels, or they quickly scan the code off the posters around the city or on social media, then these donations – big or small – will go a long way in helping us achieve our goal.”
Homelessness in the Cape Town CBD is a pressing problem and one that can’t be tackled without the help of the greater Cape Town community. The CCID’s Social Development team works closely with local NGOs on a daily basis to ensure that those living on the streets are made aware of shelters, food facilities and social services that are available to them, Eddy says.
“Homelessness is not something that we can tackle on our own,” says Eddy. “It is something that can only be combatted if all the major players – big business, the City, the NGO sector, SAPS and the public – work together to find effective and creative solutions,” she concludes.
Those wishing to support the “Show you care” campaign can find more information on the Facebook page.
For press queries:
Sharon Sorour-Morris
Manager: Communications
Central City Improvement District
sharon@capetownccid.org
082 216 0835