Apr 2022
The South African Gold Coin Exchange ( SAGCE) & The Scoin Shop are thrilled to announce that they are partnering again with 67 Blankets for Mandela Day. This year's participation is particularly significant as 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day is teaming up with NGO Gift of the Givers to create a gigantic Rainbow Nation Blanket of Hope.
Rael Demby, CEO of the SAGCE & The Scoin Shop, says, "We have collaborated with 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day since it started way back in 2014 when founder and KnitWit-in-chief Carolyn Steyn invited us to get involved. Following our very successful 2021 collaboration called Kindness is the Golden Thread, we are delighted to be rolling out our campaign again on an even greater scale."
"The gift of hope is the biggest gift we can give South Africans. This massive R100 000 donation of wool from SAGCE & The Scoin Shop will allow our volunteers to pick up their knitting needles and crochet hooks and deliver warmth and hope to countless communities," says Carolyn Steyn.
This year's initiative sees the joining of forces of 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day with Gift of the Givers, who exemplify ethical and compassionate leadership. The founder of Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, said: "Gift of the Givers appreciates the partnership with 67 Blankets for Mandela as this relationship embodies the concept of active citizenry and selflessness where we as a nation stand up and hold hands together to assist the most vulnerable and least endowed within our communities. A blanket symbolises hope, bringing warmth, comfort, ease and specifically unconditional love when knitted by a complete stranger for a fellow national. This selfless action by those who encourage, promote, knit and sponsor the campaign is, in essence, an act of deep spirituality for the greater good, providing a better life for all in keeping with the ethos of Mandela Day and what the late president epitomised."
South African crafters are rallying together to help create the Rainbow Nation Blanket of Hope. Using wool sponsored by SAGCE & The Scoin Shop, blankets of all sizes and colours are being handed in and sorted for the big reveal on 11th May 2022.
Rael Demby says, "Our theme - Kindness is the Golden Thread - is clearly being lived through these vivid, rainbow colours that evoke our rainbow nation's warm and generous spirit." The massive 'combined' blanket will be laid out at Steyn City School in Johannesburg on 11th May 2022, after which Gift of the Givers will distribute individual blankets to people in need before the onset of winter. Together, 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela, Gift of the Givers and SAGCE & The Scoin Shop are working in partnership to create a Rainbow Nation Blanket of Hope.
More details are available at:
Facebook 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day (South Africa)/
IG: @67blankets / Twitter:@67blankets / #Rainbownationblanketofhope #67blankets
Carolyn Steyn, Founder '67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day
Photography by Craige Wynne Photography
