Dozens of children from Kensington and the Red Cross Children’s Hospital were gifted much-needed bedding for the chilly winter days.
The donation valued at more than R83 000 was made by The Table Bay Hotel based in the V&A Waterfront.
Among the 383 items donated were linen duvet covers, flat double-bed sheets and pillowcases, mattress and pillow protectors, bath and hand towels, gowns and face cloths.
The items were shared between The Red Cross War Memorial’s Children’s Hospital Trust and Watersprite Nursery School in Kensington.
The Watersprite Nursery School was established in 1945 and currently has about 84 children from 18 months to six years in their care.
June Johannes, Principal at Watersprite Nursery School, says they are appreciative of all the donations they receive.
“We will use the linen to make mattress covers for the children, we can also make chair bags for them. Some of it we will use to make curtains for our sick bay. Because the fabric is white, the children can paint their hands on there. That will beautify the area.”
Johannes says, paying it forward, they also donated some of the goods to the Kensington Old Age Home.
“We are so blessed, we recently had HeartFM here donating to us as well. We are thankful, and all the items are much-needed.”
Chantel Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Hospital Trust, says the Children’s Hospital Trust is an independent, non-profit organisation established to raise funds to support the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
Cooper welcomed the donation: “We are truly grateful and touched by the kind generosity in gifting the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital with towels, linen, and face cloths.”
“Our committed team work hard to ensure that they raise the funds to meet the needs of the hospital. The support means a lot to sick and injured children as they bravely endure often lengthy stays in hospital and fight battles most adults could not. We sincerely appreciate your belief in what we do.”
Joanne Selby, General Manager at The Table Bay Hotel, says the “conundrum” for the hospitality industry is that linen needs to be replaced regularly even though the “old” linen is still relatively new and of excellent quality.
“To prevent our linen ending up as textile waste at landfill sites where it can take over 200 years to decompose, we make every effort to repurpose as many items as possible. We are especially delighted that our upcycling initiative will assist both of these very worthy organisations.”
