It seems that every year the build up to Christmas begins a little earlier. Thankfully I have yet to hear carols playing in any shopping malls but you can bet they are dusting off those records for when the time is right.

Sometimes however an early mention of Christmas is warranted, especially when it’s for a cause that seeks to make a real difference in the lives of local children. If you haven’t heard of the Santa Shoebox Project here’s a little from their National Project Co-coordinator, Irené Pieters.

“Our focus this year is really about ‘giving for good’. We want to do good by giving (good) top quality gift boxes to (good) deserving children – some of whom have never received a gift at Christmas time before, to create an overwhelmingly good experience that benefits them – for good.  Our Virtual Boxes will enable us to deliver top quality gifts to  many  more  children,  and  through  our  pipeline  projects  and  Legacy  Fund  we  can  really  make  a sustainable difference in the lives of children, especially those living in desolate rural communities. That is really what the Santa Shoebox Project is all about.’”

Our friends over at Stor-Age have thrown their weight behind the initiative and their input so far has been invaluable. Last year they provided 10 000 shoeboxes at no charge for those looking to support the project.

“Stor-Age has been fantastic in providing us with storage space for all the things that we need to store throughout the year. They also acted as a pick-up point for empty shoeboxes which become, really, a rare commodity at this time of the year,” says Pieters. It is clear with the number of requests coming in that the need for shoeboxes is great and once again Stor-Age will be providing 10 000 shoeboxes available at any Stor-Age store nationwide.

Stor-Age produced a video last year that shows just how much good can be achieved when we put our minds to it.

In addition to the shoeboxes Stor-Age stores nationwide are used as drop-off points for completed shoeboxes, where the Stor-Age vans will then distribute them to where they are needed. Last year Stor-Age received and delivered over 8 000 completed shoeboxes to the CTICC where the main collection point for Cape Town was hosted.

“We are in a position this year to assist with the collection of shoeboxes again, as the only self storage company in South Africa with a truly national footprint, we are offering our stores as collection points, where we can take receipt of, store and the deliver the precious cargo, ensuring that it is easier than ever for the public to get involved and also to support an amazing initiative such as the Santa Shoebox Project,” says Chris Oosthuizen, GM Sales & Marketing at Stor-Age.

If you want to lend your weight to this great initiative check out the Santa Shoebox Project’s website HERE and keep an eye on Stor-Age’s Facebook page HERE for more information.

Stor-Age have also been pretty good to our readers, offering you guys THIS insane special. Whether you need a locker for a bicycle or a garage for your house contents, they have the space you need. And they’re offering a special R1 for the first month deal – no strings attached! You can take you stuff out after one month – no problem.