As part of its commitment to its extended community, Sandton City has launched a school uniform and stationery essentials collection drive, urging shoppers to donate anything from shirts to pants, from socks to shoes, and stationery items to help learners in Alexandra Community start their year off on a high note. Aimed at making learners’ schools journey more meaningful, the centre started the collection with the first 400 sets of stationery and hopes that shoppers will get behind the initiative that has the potential to make a real difference.

Any individual stationery items, such as pens, pencils, rulers, erasers, notebooks and crayons, are welcome. Alternatively, pre-packed sets are available from Checkers and CNA in the centre. The collection boxes are located in front of back-to-school specialists Checkers, Jet and Woolworths and will be emptied regularly until 31 January, when the items will be handed over to the non-profit organisation Rays of Hope, well known for its incredible work focused on uplifting the youth in Alexandra.

“Education is an essential part of empowering a child to live a fulfilled life” says Dimitri Kokinos, General Manager of Sandton City. “We hope that shoppers come forth generously, so that together, we can help set the class of 2023 up for success as they embark on the school year ahead,” he added.

For more information and regular updates go to www.sandtoncity.com or follow the centre on social media @SandtonCitymall.

ABOUT RAYS OF HOPE:

Rays of Hope is a non-profit organisation (063-389-NPO) that has been partnering with the community of Alexandra township for over 31 years. Alex is home to approximately 1-million people living in 8km2 on the edge of Sandton. It is the primary destination on which rural immigration is focused; hence it is a diverse population, with a myriad of challenges. Rays of Hope works to stabilise and accelerate the development of resilient, skilled individuals and families that will pave the way for future generations.

The Rays of Hope Rose-Act Saturday School programme teaches English and Maths to over 400 young people from schools in Alexandra in Grades 4 – 11 every Saturday.  For the first time this year, additional support will be provided to senior students in the “tough” subjects too. This programme has been running for more than 30 years and has positively impacted thousands of young people by adding to what they learn at school making them better able to cope and succeed. Even during lockdown, we continued to support the young people of Alexandra. All the tutoring is done by volunteers from different walks of life – CEOs to university students, HR experts to RoseAct alumni, who now want to give back, because they truly valued the input that they received. The classes are much smaller than an average class at an Alex school, which is over 60 children. It is the individual attention and acceptance that the children receive that makes all the difference. The fact that a non-paid tutor arrives every week means the world to them, when their regular teachers do not necessarily. Every year all the students are provided with a stationery pack at the start of the year as well as a T-shirt, so that they can be identified when arriving at “school”.

In addition to the Maths and English tutoring, the children are also taken on age-appropriate outings to broaden their worldview. The goal is not to just educate but to develop our young people into well-rounded individuals. If possible, we offer extra-curricular activities too, which has in the past included dancing, chess, spelling bee, and more. For the first time this year, all of the children’s families will also be engaged and receive home visits, parenting skills, counselling if needed, and where possible adult training to enable them to start their own small business.

For more information, please visit https://raysofhope.co.za/