The organising committee of the Wear to Care project of the Parents Guidance Group of the SAVF. From left: Sonja Nel, Lize Laas, Louise Hartley, Mariette Laas and Annelize Ziel-Owens

When you grow old and the world has forgotten about you, you may well end up in Polokwane's Martha Homeyr Home for the aged. Here, the staff and volunteers of the South African Women's Federation (SAVF) will look after your every need.

But what if your pension runs out before your life? Then the SAVF will still look after you, and their volunteers will launch projects to collect funds to help them do that.

One such a project is the Wear to Care project of the Parents Guidance Group of the SAVF. The Parents Guidance Group are the young members of the SAVF.

Why are money needed?

Well, despite government subsidies and income out of services that could be charged for, the SAVF in South Africa still have a shortage of R47,5m for the past year to cover the care of the 755 000 people entrusted to it. The situation is the same in Limpopo, although on a smaller scale.

In our district of Capricorn, the welfare workers look after the elderly in homes like Martha Hofmeyr, but also provide family care services to 3760 people. These services included statutory services, counselling, placing in foster care, foster care parents' guidance, childrens court investigations, adoptions, food provision and more.

Wear to Care

The Parents Guidance Group of the SAVF in Polokwane took it upon themselves to collect R300 000,00 to assist the Polokwane SAVF in meeting its obligations.

This they hope to achieve with their Wear to Care project.

The project works like this:
individuals buy a Wear to Care sticker for only R5,00 per student or child and R10,00 per adult, which allows them to wear any hat to work or school on 5 August 2009. The funnier the hat, the better.

The Parents Guidance Group has approached all local schools to participate and they also mustered the power of local radion station. JacarandaRMfm and Good Morning Angels, the early morning project of Jacaranda 94.2.

They already sold 12 000 stickers, but they will need the effort of the whole community to take them to their target of R300 000,00. For this reason they call on businesses, individuals and the youth to support their worthwhile effort.

You have a choice:

• you can finish reading this, shrug your shoulders, make a clever comment and go on with your life,
• or you can motivate your colleagues and friends and do something for a senior citizen who you will probably never know, but who will be grateful for the food and shelter you have helped provide.

If you want to participate call Mariëtte Laas at 083 336 2227.

If you don't want to participate but want to help, pay any amount into this account:
SAVF Mapokkels
Standard Bank
Branch code 052548
Acc nr 200610740
Ref: your name

* As usual, MyPolokwane.com will publish any pics of individuals or groups that participate, on our website, our Facebook page and our Flickr album.  Arrange with Mariëtte for the taking of the pictures.