NetcarePlus has announced that the Riverside Community Church has donated over 700 pairs of high-quality school shoes to children in Rosettenville and surrounding areas, supporting their educational journey. The project started when Lee Fraser, a healthcare intermediary for NetcarePlus and a member of Branch Out Projects, learned about the My Walk initiative.
This collaboration between Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care focuses on promoting social development and environmental sustainability, says Netcare.
"I heard about how My Walk makes brand new school shoes from high-quality polyvinyl chloride [PVC] reclaimed from non-hazardous healthcare waste, such as drip bags and tubing, when I attended the NetcarePlus product launch last year. It made such an impression on me, that I took this message back to Branch Out Projects, and we decided to make fundraising for donations of My Walk shoes our church's special year-end community drive," Fraser says.
"From there, the news spread that for only R35 community members could make a difference to a child's future by donating a pair of shoes to schools where they are especially needed. We managed to raise enough to give 700 children each a pair of school shoes, showing that together small contributions can add up to making a big difference in our community," adds Fraser.
On Thursday, 9 January, this vision became a reality when 429 pairs of shoes were handed over to the learners of Rosettenville Primary School to ensure that the children could start the new school year with confidence on equal footing, says NetcarePlus.
"We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Lee, Branch Out Projects and the entire community for the impact they have made by helping to put quality shoes on the feet of hundreds of school learners," says Teshlin Akaloo, Managing Director at NetcarePlus.
"We are deeply thankful for the support and recognition we received over the past five years that have given wings to the My Walk initiative," says Delanie Bezuidenhout, General Manager of My Walk.
"To date, My Walk has equipped 261 740 children in total with brand new, fully recyclable school shoes donated through efforts such as these, preventing 137 000kg of healthcare waste from reaching landfills, repurposing PVC to extend its usefulness and contributing to a circular economy," Bezuidenhout adds.
For each ton of PVC material recycled and repurposed to make My Walk school shoes, some 1.5 tons of greenhouse gasses are prevented from entering the atmosphere, says the company.
"As part of the Netcare Group, we believe that sustainability and social impact go hand-in-hand. Seeing how Lee and her church embraced the My Walk initiative to drive meaningful change is incredibly inspiring, showing the power of what can be achieved when businesses and communities collaborate. Their example reminds us that kindness is contagious," Akaloo concludes.
For more information, visit www.netcare.co.za. You can also follow Netcare on Facebook or on LinkedIn.
*Image courtesy of contributor