In a combined effort across the Western Cape, more than 1500 items of clothing were collected in support of ‘MySchool Clothing Day’, exceeding the target of 1000 garments.

Items such as grey school pants, white shirts, pairs of grey or white socks, grey, black or navy jerseys, blazers or skirts and any other appropriate clothing for young learners were donated and dropped off at one of the collection points situated throughout Cape Town. The collection points were Durbanville Primary School, Kenilworth Centre, CBC St Johns, Customer Services at Canal Walk, Woolworths Canal Walk, Welgemoed Primary School and Rondebosch Boys Preparatory School.

“The project was very successful and we are very pleased to see how learners, parents and staff have opened their hearts and their closets to those in need,” says MySchool marketing manager, Helene Brand.

The Clothing Bank collects clothing from retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and the general public, then repairs, sorts and distributes clothing to needy communities. The organisation also provides employment for mothers, empowering them through enterprise development.

“We hope that this project has encouraged all schools to start their own 'upcyling' projects at their schools, where they give back to needier schools. We call this a 'twinning strategy'. Just as with the MySchool programme every swipe of your MySchool card counts for your Beneficiary, in this instance, every item counts,” concludes Brand.

The MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet is a fundraising initiative, which through collaborations with leading retailers, facilitates the donations of funds to over 9 000 beneficiaries nationwide. Each time a MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet card is swiped at a participating retailer, up to 5% of a purchase's value will be donated to a beneficiary of choice at no cost to them.

To find out more about the MySchool programme and how to get involved, visit www.myschool.co.za.