In the coldest month for the past 10 years in South Africa, July 2021, Stewarts & Lloyds has undertaken to warm some of the most vulnerable communities around the country with a blanket drive.

Stewarts & Lloyds has a nationwide network of 32 branches in South Africa and is ever expanding to add more locations to provide the same exceptional service and great quality products to more areas. Having been an integral part of South Africa’s economy since 1903, Stewarts & Lloyds cares about the communities in which it operates and thus, having seen the impact that the severe cold was having on the more vulnerable communities, the group decided to reach out and make a difference to those in need.

Spearheaded by the marketing department, a challenge was issues to all the branches to participate and choose their own charities to donate blankets and collect other necessary donations. The Head Office together with the Pretoria branch donated a total of 260 blankets to the Thusa Bantwana feeding scheme, run by Florence Steenkamp. The scheme feeds a total of 450 people per day- some of the most vulnerable in our country, children whose parents have left and are being raised by their elderly grandparents, living on the bear minimum.

Stewarts & Lloyds other branches chose a variety of charities that included the Germiston SPCA that was unfortunately looted just before the donation drive and so this came in at the perfect time to help them rebuild.  The Robertville branch chose Bethany House in Krugersdorp that assists all in all over 100 000 beneficiaries through their various programmes. The Vaal helped Catherine Robson Children’s Home that cares for children who have been taken out of their own homes due to unfavourable circumstances. The Wynberg branch brought everyone to tears having chosen the Tree of Hope in Edenvale that takes in and cares for abandoned babies and helps vulnerable mothers to care for their babies instead of giving them up, while Port Elizabeth did a big donation run to the Animal Welfare Society of PE.

Head of Marketing at Stewarts & Lloyds, Eve Berriman says: “Overall over 1500 blankets were distributed to all the various charities in South Africa, this building on the CSI projects Stewarts & Lloyds undertook in Easter and planning more around the festive season. We tend to choose those initiatives and organisations that don’t have as much support traditionally to make a difference to those that need our support the most”.