Nov 15, 2019 | News
On Saturday, 2 November we hosted our Annual Friendship Day Programme.
The goal of the programme is to empower our young people and teach them leadership skills. Our young people spent much time practising with assistance and support from our dedicated Child and Youth Care Workers.
The event was a huge success as our children performed a variety of songs, drama and dance. Special thanks must go to Maggie Pelkofer and Madison Seeger, our foreign in-service students from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, for raising a total of R9000 for this event through Go Fund Me, an online fundraising site.
We would also like to acknowledge one of our loyal donors, Mrs. S Madaree, for donating the refreshments for the day.
Nov 15, 2019 | News
In September this year, 13 young people completed the gold hike to successfully complete their level and achieve their Gold Presidents Award. In addition 8 young people also graduated from Silver to Gold in August.
Well done and congratulations to our young people for their hard work and determination. A special thank you to Christine Wyngaard and the President’s Awards Team for their commitment to supporting our young people through this journey.
Sep 4, 2019 | News
A big thank you to Glen Parent Youth Group for all that they have done for us over the last two weeks.
This is our second visit from an Irish Youth Group this year. We really do feel special that they love visiting our organisation.
Whilst spending time with us, they helped with painting some of our offices and the pool area, as well as spoiling our children which included lots of soccer games.
Jul 24, 2019 | News
Grateful thanks to everyone who volunteered, visited or donated to help make Mandela Week 2019 unforgettable!
We started the week with the Gogos from Issey Geshen Old Aged home, who shared stories and gave out handmade soft toys for our little ones.
The Glenwood High School 1st Rugby team showed us their talent off the field when they helped us clean, paint and setup our laundry room.
Companies such as Lee-Chem Laboratories, Wits Health Consortium and Accenture Operations helped give various areas of our Centre a facelift with general cleaning and painting. We also received an overwhelming contribution of non-perishable food items and wishlist items from individuals, schools and corporates. A big thank you to you all!
Special thanks to Dr. Nkosinathi Shabalala for spending 67 minutes with us! Our Siyakhula Group enjoyed your informative talk and were truly grateful for your free consultation.
On Tuesday, 16 July we hosted our very own Corporate Amazing Race Challenge as part of our Mandela Week Programme. Facilitated by Beach and Bush Teambuilding as part of their CSI initiative, the event encouraged corporates to assist with maintenance projects around the home, whilst raising funds towards the care of our children and youth.
Teams of four enjoyed a day of fun team-building activities and low impact maintenance projects such as gardening and painting. Participants were from the following companies:
- Pro Print (Pty) (2 teams)
- EBM-PAPST
- Accenture Operations
- Astron Energy (Pty) Ltd (6 teams).
Tasks were completed in a rotation format and teams were judged on their thoroughness of completing the projects. The top three winning teams were : 1st Place – Pro Print, 2nd Place – Astron Energy and 3rd Place – EBM-PAPST.
We are grateful to our sponsors on the day, who included The Barnyard Theatre – Suncoast, Chateau Gateaux, Waltons Glenwood, Stella@Glenwood, Innovative Methology, KZN Athletics Club, Deals on Wheels and Beach and Bush Teambuilding Company.
Collectively all ten teams that participated helped us give three of our cottages a facelift, developed ten mini gardens with creative settings and painted 40 bright and colourful tyres for our obstacle course. Through the entry fees, they helped us raise some much needed funds for our care programmes!
This event was a success only through the amazing support and charitable spirit of all our participants and sponsors for the day. Thank you!
Pictured above are the winners, Pro-print and runners up Astron Energy. Third place went to the team from EBM-PAPST (below).
Jul 24, 2019 | News
Over the past few months the DCYCC has been a hive of activity. It has been an incredibly busy time with much happening. Along with the daily demands of providing holistic care to 82 children, we have also had to contend with some unexpected, and in some cases extraordinary, challenges that have stretched us as never before. There were many times when we were keenly aware that God’s grace had carried us through the day.
Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity’’. However, recognising opportunity when confronted by difficulties is easier said than done! Fortunately, DCYCC has over time, developed a team of people with the ability to hold steady at the peak of the storm, recognise the opportunity within the challenge and press forward with new learning.
Our children coped admirably during this time, completing the 2nd term of the 2019 academic year and participating in a myriad of activities. Without realising it, they encourage us to keep focussed on our mission.
When one pauses to consider the mammoth obstacles they have faced and continue to face on a daily basis, one cannot but be both encouraged and humbled by their courage. So we look to the remainder of the year with a resolve to focus on the possibilities.
A big thank you to Glen Parent Youth Group for all that they have done for us over the last two weeks.
