The food collection project was started last year, inspired by the fact that so many of the children in George spend the Christmas holidays without having a meal of any kind for days on end. During the course of the school term, they may receive a meal at school through feeding schemes already in place, but most go home on a Friday and will not receive their next meal until school on Monday. During school holidays, they spend all of their days starving.
At the very least, the Lions want to make a difference to these families during the Christmas season and provide meals to hundreds of families who are in desperate need.
Through the Eden Lions partnership with the Child and Family Welfare organisation, all food collected will be made up in parcels and distributed to families throughout the George area. Parcels will also be created for other welfare organisations who feed children during the holiday season so that a wide range of people can benefit from the generosity of the community and businesses who contribute to this cause.
Due to the overwhelming success of the Tip-A-Ton project last year, where a staggering seven tons of food was collected and distributed, the project has been extended to cover other towns in the Garden Route as well, such as Knysna, Sedgefield and Oudtshoorn - these areas will be controlled by the relevant Lions clubs in those towns. The Lions Service Club Organi-sation is divided into four districts in South Africa, and the Tip-A-Ton project was voted as the top service project in the entire district for the previous year.
"This was a great achievement, especially considering that the Eden district is the poorest area in the entire Western Cape. Drastic measures need to be put in place to address poverty," says Eden lions president Carl van Blerk.
Van Blerk also challenges every single resident of George, and those who are currently spending their holidays in our city to donate just one tin, bag of rice or packet of mielie meel to this project. The Eden Lions can be found at the Pick 'n Pay store in Courtney Road from Thursday 16 December to Sunday 19 December. Individuals and businesses are urged to stop by and make a small donation. This is a time of giving - no gift can make a larger impact than giving a meal and bringing a smile to the face of a starving child over Christmas. Most people reading this article will need to do some kind of shopping over these next four days, whether it be for the upcoming Christmas dinner or simply for bread and milk - why not do that shopping at the Eden Lions venue and add a tin or two to your trolley for the collection.
Collection at Bush Lapa
A secondary collection point for the Tip-A-Ton project will be the Bush Lapa Music Festival which starts on 17 of December and goes into the new year, ending on 6 Ja-nuary. All who are attending the concerts are asked to bring along a tin or two for the food collection and enjoy the evening of fantastic music and entertainment, knowing that a difference has been made to the lives of the children of George. The Eden Lions wish to thank the Bush Lapa Music Festival for their role in supporting the collection.
Make a difference this year and give a gift that really matters and will be truly appreciated. Support the Lions Tip-A-Ton of Food project. For more information or if businesses have staff collections which need to be fetched, please contact Carl van Blerk on 082 826 0731.
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Seven tons of food was collected with last year’s Lions Tip-A-Ton project. Seen with some of it are (from left) Lion president Carl van Blerk and Lions Debby van Blerk, Jenny Bosch, Ceri Shakkleton, Marcel Bosch and Barbara Haywood. In the front are Tyler and Jade van Blerk.
