A Stellenbosch University (SU) student society aims to collect 5 000 Easter eggs between 8 and 17 April, in order to distribute them to children at various institutions.
This is according to Lize Venter, a fifth-year BaccLLB student at SU, and community service director of Golden Key Stellenbosch.
The purpose of the drive is to spark joy for children during Easter and to give back to the community, said Venter.
The drive is a repetition of an Easter egg drive held last year by Golden Key, where the goal was to collect 500 Easter eggs, according to Venter.
An Easter egg donation box located at the entrance of the Van der Sterr building at Stellenbosch University (SU). People are encouraged to donate as many easter eggs as they would like at any of the donation stations, which are located at SU residences Harmonie, Nerina, and Metanoia, as well as at the Van der Sterr building in Stellenbosch, and at the clinical building and Biomedical Research Institute building at SU’s Tygerberg campus. This is according to Lize Venter, a fifth-year BaccLLB student at SU and community service director of Golden Key Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Iman Allie
The drive is a collaborative effort with various SU residences, including Harmonie, Nerina, and Metanoia, which act as donation stations, according to Venter.
“We can’t just, as students, focus on ourselves and our own well-being,” said Venter. “Because at some point we need to decide – ‘What are we giving back to the community?’.”
People are encouraged to donate as many Easter eggs as they would like, but have the option to help with the distribution of eggs if they are unable to donate, according to Venter.
Goldfields residence at Stellenbosch University, where one of the donation stations is located, according to Golden Key’s Easter egg drive poster. Donors have the option to donate at the residences of Goldfields, Pieke, Helderberg, and Osler, according to the poster. PHOTO: Iman Allie
“Once all of the Easter eggs are collected by the 17th of April, we will go ahead and hand them out at Vlottenburg Primary School, at preschools, at Home from Home foster care, [and] at Tygerberg Hospital,” said Venter.
It is important that the children in foster homes have Easter celebrations, because the period may serve as a reminder to them of their loss in biological family, according to Peter Marx, executive director of Home from Home, a non-profit, foster care organisation.
“I think it’s meaningful for those who have experienced [Easter] and want others to enjoy it as well, to donate some of their eggs, and to make someone else’s day special as well,” said Lindi van Wyk, a third-year BSc (Chemistry and Polymer Science) student at SU and social impact house committee member of the Harmonie residence.
“Tygerberg Hospital was especially important for me, because there are so many terminally ill kids there who can’t go home for Easter, who can’t spend Easter with their family, who can’t go outside and hunt for Easter eggs with their friends,” said Venter. “It’s so important to recognise those children and to give them a chance to experience that same sense of joy that other kids get to have.”
The donation station at Harmonie residence. “Harmonie has a foyer area, we call it Klein Knersis, in short ‘KK’,” said Lindi van Wyk, a third-year BSc (Chemistry and Polymer Science) at Stellenbosch University, and social impact portfolio holder of Harmonie residence. “Most people in res walk past this area on their way in or out, so I left a box on the desk for people to see and remember […] to give donations.” PHOTO: Iman Allie