In the first incident visitors from PathCare came with a donation of snacks for the children. They parked their vehicle outside the gate, leaving a handbag visible – the vehicle was broken into and the handbag was stolen.

In the second incident one week later one of our foster parents came to fetch the new addition to their family. They came in high spirits, excited to take Baby N home. While they were inside making all the arrangements their car was broken in to and a bag removed. All their travelling documents, ID and court documents, as well as a camera, were in this bag.

The joyful moment of happiness was clouded by this sad incident. It is very distressing when criminals strike, and the necessity of having to replace all the stolen documents is a tiresome and costly process.

It is therefore imperative that all visitors to our home are aware of incidents such as these in order to prevent more of them happening. When you come to visit the home, please park inside the premises, not outside and ensure the gates are closed behind you when you leave. Also please either hide all valuables and bags or take them inside with you.

We managed to raise over R30 000 this year and there are still funds for after-bazaar sales outstanding towards the event.

The event was a roaring success thanks to the help of:

• Stall holders – Church in Westridge, Y2A, Genevieve & family, Snyders family, Deidre & Carol
• Host parents – cakes & sweets
• Entertainment- Party tots, Springfield Marimba Band, Karaoke DJ Gavin
• Financial sponsors/ individual donors – Grand West, Quarterdeck
• Patrons who supported the day
• CRCH Staff & Volunteers assistance – Raihaanah & Rotaract group, Faranaaz and Family, CPUT Students
• Companies & individuals – Auction item donors

We thank you for your assistance/donations and ensuring a successful event. We hope that we can count on your assistance & participation again next year!

This is her call to action – will you help?

My First Two Oceans Ultra Marathon…

Running and reading, two of my biggest passions, (one far harder than the other!) inspired me to put this fundraiser together. Now you may frown and ask what has my reading got to do with it? Simple, I read bedtime stories for the little ones at Christine Revell Children’s Home.

This Home provides care for 49 abandoned, abused, orphaned and neglected children, irrespective of race, religion or HIV status. To me their slogan says it all “we build brighter futures for children in need” (have a look through the website while you’re here – hold on to your hearts, they might steal it!!).

Now, to answer your second question, what is the running all about? Two Oceans Ultra Marathon… a whopping 56km (I know, it’s NOT normal to run 56 km, but for these kids I will do it any day).

Now, for your final question, Run for a Rand? I challenge you to sponsor me R1 (but not limited to) for every kilometre I complete in aid of Christine Revell Children’s Home.

To indicate whether you are “running” with me, please click runforarand and register to show your support. You will receive a “smiling” email from me on the 10th April 2012, with details for your donation directly to the Home.

Please, (PLEASE) forward this to any of your friends, colleagues and family, every bit helps!

Thank you so much!

Lucyanne

0829024040

Thank you Metrorail Cape Town staff!

The staff of Metrorail Cape Town kindly sponsored Spur Steak Ranch vouchers for the children of Christine Revell Children’s Home. The vouchers were meant for Christmas, but we only managed to take the kids there in January. We were able to take Group C on the 24th January and Group B on the 27th January to the Apache Spur in Cape Town.

Needless to say it was a very exciting outing for the children and they had so much fun!

A big Thank You to the staff and management at the Apache Spur in Cape Town who welcomed us with big smiles. Thank you too for your patience with our little ones and your hospitality.

A very big Thank You to Metrorail Staff for the wonderful treat – you made our children feel very special. All went home with full tummies and happy smiles.

As part of our Fundraising initiative we will be having a bazaar/auction on the 31st of March 2012 at the home. All proceeds from the event are donated to the home and will be used to cover ongoing expenses.

How can you help us?

There are 3 ways in which you can help and/or participate. Download a form, complete it and return it to us by the 22nd March 2012.

1. Donate items to be auctioned  (download auction items only form)
2. Host a stall selling items (download form)
3. Donate items to be sold at a stall (download form)

You can of course also do all 3 (the options 2/3 form covers all 3).

Suggested Items for Auction:

• Furniture & Appliances
• Art, Mirrors & Picture Frames
• Jewellery & Watches
• Goods to make up hampers

Suggested Items for Stalls

• Plastic bags and stickers
• Cakes, sweets & ice cream
• Food: Curry & rice, Potjiekos, Pancakes, etc
• Yoghurts, juices & cooldrinks
• Crockery
• Small appliances
• Kitchenware
• Books – for children & adults
• Toiletry Items: lotions, creams, soaps, etc
• Toys and games
• Groceries
• Arts & Crafts
• Computer and office equipment
• Flowers and plants

If you have any further queries or wish to assist in another way, please call Alicia on 021-697 1748 or fill in our Contact form.

This visit was arranged through our Chairperson, Hannarie Wenhold,  who is linked to Waterfront Rotary. She approached Dr Mohammed about the situation that some of our children had problems with their teeth and were in real need of being seen to by a dentist.

Dr Mohammed and his team were very eager and willing to assist in order to help the children and has indicated that he will try to get more dentists involved in doing pro bono work with our children. We are sincerely grateful for Dr Mohammed and his team’s donation of their time and skills to help our children, and I’m sure the children are too – although at the time maybe not so!

Our outing to the Bergrivier Resort

Every year in aid of National Children’s Day we arrange an ‘Adopt-a-child‘ Day outing (read our previous article ‘Adopt-a-Child Day Outing‘).

This a day where host parents, volunteers and friends of the organisation can ‘adopt’ a child for this day and care for them as if the child were their own. This is a special day for the child as each of them feel special: they have their own ‘parent’ or own family that spends time with them and cares for them.

The parents or families that participate also benefit as they get to give something really meaningful to the child – a memory of being loved and being happy and having fun. Many find that through this process they grow in their compassion and wisdom, and that they can give something back to a community needing assistance.

We have been doing this for the last 9 years and have gone to various different places including Avalon Springs in Montague, Wiesenhof Wildpark in Stellenbosch, Ou skip Resort in Melkbosstrand, the Farmyard in Klapmuts, Okkie Jooste Cultural Centre and the Berg River Resort.

Spending time in the pool

Besides the benefit to the children and volunteers involved, it also give us as staff of the home the opportunity to observe the children in a different setup. We are always present on these outings and although we recommend that the adults should be loving towards the children, naturally we exercise caution in setting boundaries.

Some comments from the volunteers:

“We were awarded the opportunity to indulge in quality, bonding time with the children in a setting other than the home. Despite the scorching hot weather, the children were happy and seemed to flourish from the love and care they received.” – Independent Congregational Church, Kensington

“We are blessed to have had the opportunity to spend time with the children. They are disciplined, friendly and adorable. Their faces remain in our memories as our growing love for them is engraved in our hearts” – Danusha Thomas

Happiness is...

“Many thanks for the opportunity to be part of the outing on Saturday, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would love to be part of this (and any other similar initiatives) you run.” – Liesl Matthews

“Dankie ek het die dag baie geniet en was nogal moeg teen Saterdagaand.” – Maryka Vermaak (Waterfront Rotarian)

On the picnic blanket

“The little girl assigned to me was ‘Miss C’– a really delightful little girl. Though she started out the day rather quietly, she became more and more engaged in all the activities and appeared to have the time of her life! What really impressed me was how responsive and well-behaved she was – curious about everything. Though she didn’t talk a great deal she was very active, especially in the pool where she stayed till she was cold – emerging just to be wrapped up warmly and sit quietly in my lap till she was ready to jump into the pool again! She was so tired by the end of the day that she fell asleep on the way home and was completely silent during her bath and being dressed for bed! It was really hard to say goodbye and walk away at the end of the day. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to engage with ‘Miss C’ for that day!” – Margie Barrie – Watefront Rotarian

“Saturday was such a fantastic day. I felt so immensely privileged to be there with the children. To see the happiness of their faces was priceless” – M.Sloggett

The pool was very popular

Watch me...

Carols by Candlelight

We are having a Carols by Candlelight evening early December, to which we encourage you to come and to invite your family, colleagues and friends.

You can print out our invitation to hand out to them, which contains all the information we list here below.

Date: Saturday 3 December

Time: 18h00 – 21h00

Venue: Christine Revell Children’s Home, Huntley Street, Athlone

The evening is arranged to celebrate Christmas and to make it something special for the kids, so we would appreciate it if you could bring a gift for a child, and maybe some of the daily needs items from the list as well if possible (but don’t wrap these in with the Christmas present please).

Gift

The gift you bring should be marked whether it is for a boy or girl and the age of the child it is appropriate for. Our children range from small newborn babies to 6 year olds, so please make sure to bring something suitable to this age range. The gifts will not be opened on the evening, but will be kept until Christmas morning to make it a special day for them.

Bring

A picnic basket with some goodies to eat and drink, a blanket and/or folding chairs – whatever makes you comfortable. And don’t forget the candles! A good idea is cut the top off a 2L cooldrink bottle, fill the bottom with sand and stick the candle in this – it will protect the flame from the wind (if it decides to blow on the day).

Donate

With regards to our daily needs, we would appreciate it if you could donate items from the list below besides the Christmas present:

• Bath Soaps/ Tooth Pastes
• Nail clippers/ scissors
• Washing  Powder
• Toilet Paper
• Hair Accessories & Ribbons
• Baby powders/ lotions
• Nappy pins/ snappy fasteners

What would also be great is some Christmas Clothing for the children to wear on Christmas day.

If you need any further information or some explanations or suggestions maybe for presents, please contact Alicia at the Home’s office by phone on  (021) 697 1748/ 083-653 0344 or by email.

Department of Social Development visit

Departmental officials were Mr Woldson, Ms Somtsewu and Ms Stali from Department of Social Development.

Finding:

The oversight visit was a success!

Christine Revell Children’s Home is very well managed and facilitated. According to the standing committee it is a best practice.