Many children walk far distances to school every day without wearing any shoes. “A pair of shoes are a basic item that everyone requires, a life without shoes can damage a school-goers self-esteem and hamper their learning ability,” says Nicola Vogel, communications and fundraising manager at Adopt-a-School. The Adopt-a-School Foundation is a non-profit organisation that supports the creation and enhancement of a conducive learning and teaching environment in disadvantaged schools.
Zando.co.za, together with its partners
BizCommunity, Build A Bear Workshop
®, CourierIT, Dialogue and Infidels have setup a national campaign to drive awareness and donate shoes to Adopt-a-School. The campaign called
Get Them Some Shoes launches on Thursday, 4 April and will end on Sunday, 30 June. Three travelling bears will embark on a three month adventure to raise awareness and encourage sign-ups. Each bear will start its journey in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The campaign is supported by ambassadors Freshly Ground; Tarryn Kay, AKA TK from
Goodhope FM; Terence Pillay of
East Coast Radio; Franco Human of
Guy in the Green Shorts; Weza Solange, a TV host and actress; Thabo September, captain of Supersport United FC; and radio presenter, Jadene Tager; and welcomes anyone who would like to adopt the initiative and spread the word. For every thirty unique sign-ups, one pair of shoes will be donated to a child in need. Signing up is really easy, anyone over the age of 18 can visit
www.getthemsomeshoes.co.za or SMS their Name and Email address to the Shortcode 37511 (at a cost of R1/SMS).
The campaign idea originated with
Zando.co.za in 2012. A colleague of a friend whose shoes had been stolen tweeted
Zando.co.za requesting another pair.
Zando.co.za responded to the tweet and hand delivered the guy a pair of shoes.
Zando also created a
YouTube video, titled
GetThisGuySomeShoes. A year later, the campaign evolved into something bigger and the company is asking everyone else for their help by simply signing up. The shoes will go to a school/s that most need it and this will be decided through Adopt-a-School who have national reach. The shoes will be handed over once the campaign is complete. “The Foundation will select a beneficiary school(s) in a rural area, where there are many vulnerable learners who walk long distances to school,” said Vogel.
The bears are sponsored by Build-A-Bear Workshop. “Teddy bears are cuddly and put a smile on your face. They are also linked to a playful childlike nature. This made them a great connector to the aim of the campaign. The aim being: to give as many underprivileged children the advantage of owning a new pair of 100% genuine leather school shoes, thus enabling them to further their education with one less worry,” said Gennaro Pisapia, PR and communications manager at
Zando.co.za.