The Grindrod Clothing Bank was initiated by Candice Woods as one of the Grindrod Lighthouse Projects. The objective was to collect unwanted clothes from employees and friends and donate the items to various charities.
A call for second-hand clothes was sent out to all Grindrod employees and drop-off points in various buildings, managed by volunteers, were arranged. The volunteers spent weeks collecting clothes and hours sorting the items into parcels for delivery.
On 11 November 2016, 80 bags of clothing, 5 carloads, was donated and delivered to various charities.
A carload of clothes was donated to: TLC Hospice located in the township of Shayamoya in the Kokstad vicinity. TLC provide palliative home care to the poorest of the poor. The clothes will be given to the needy by the care workers at TLC Hospice.
Wildlands ‘Clothes for Life’, based in Hilton, was also a recipient of a carload of clothes. The Clothes for Life project promotes recycling and tree planting. Bundles of clothes are traded for trees and bags of waste.
Hopes Closet, a NGO taking care of women in need, received a carload of clothes.
Two carloads of clothing were delivered to a drop-off point at the Antique Café in Durban, where clothes were collected for a street store event on 4 December 2016. A Street Store event creates opportunities for the poor to have a ‘shopping experience’ with dignity; all clothes donated are hung up on the street for the poor to come and choose what they would like.
A very big thank you to the volunteers - Candice Woods (champion of the project), Pretty Cele, Gavin Spavins, Sarah Freestone, Vasie Bilasur, Nimmi Andrews, Samantha Geel, Levern Moodley - and a big thank you to all the people who generously donated the clothing.
In Gavin Spavin’s words: “It’s a privilege to work at Grindrod with people who share a common desire to make a difference and be the lighthouse!”