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Spend your 67 minutes helping an ECD centre this Mandela Day

By Grow ECD


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Although we should be helping those who are less fortunate every day, every year on 18 July, Mandela Day provides a great reason to get involved doing good for 67 minutes. Grow ECD, which equips Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres with the skills, support and resources they need to provide 5-star early learning for every child, is an excellent organisation to dedicate your time or resources to on the day. This year, Grow ECD has a few ideas that you can implement that will have a lasting impact on young children’s lives for the rest of the year.

 

Helene Brand, Grow ECD’s National Marketing Manager, says, “Supporting the ECD industry in South Africa is the best investment you can make, especially as we operate in a country where education is crucial. Research has repeatedly shown that children who receive good quality early learning have better life outcomes. Grow ECD’s mission is to help centre owners – most of whom are women ­– run 5-star preschools that provide quality education while also being more financially sustainable,” she says. 


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Empowering the people who are educating the next generation

 

South Africa has more than 42,000 ECD centres and early learning programmes, many of which operate on low monthly fees and rely on government subsidies. Grow is working with both registered and unregistered centres and provides various tools, training and support to improve the quality of education, compliance and sustainability of centres. 

 

Currently, Grow ECD is working with 232 ECD Centres in Cape Town, Gqeberha, Durban and Johannesburg through their three-year Small Business Programme.

 

This Mandela Day you can help Grow ECD centres with the following donations:

  • Preschool tables, chairs, carpets and mattresses

  • Outdoor play equipment such as 3-wheel scooters, 1-wheel push scooters or soft balls

  • Everyday essentials that can reduce the operating costs of the centres and improve health, hygiene and education such as, detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, wet wipes, art and craft supplies, age-appropriate books and toys (see detailed list below)

 

Brand says, “Your donation of just R120 can, for example, equip a centre with a one-wheel push scooter. These toys create so much joy among the children, plus they are wonderful for outdoor play, gross motor development, social skills and do not take up a lot of storage space,” she says. “We hope that people will mobilise their networks to collect items or make a cash donation online.”

 

Embrace this Mandela Day as an opportunity for yourself, your friends, family and your organisations be part of a collective action in a meaningful way and leave a legacy – in honour of Nelson Mandela. Together, we must build a safe, prosperous future for everyone.


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List of items required:

  • Age-appropriate books for 0-5-year-olds in decent condition and in local languages.

  • Cleaning items to keep spaces hygienic (handwash, dishwashing soap, bleach, multipurpose cleaner, wet wipes, toilet paper, tissues).

  • Art and craft consumables (white paper reams, thick crayons, various colours of playdough, play-dough shape cutters, non-toxic water-based paint, paint brushes, glue sticks, blunt nose scissors)

  • Age-appropriate outdoor play equipment like tennis balls, soft large soccer balls, 3-wheel scooters and hula hoops.

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