About Santa Shoebox Project

The Santa Shoebox Project is an initiative of the Kidz2Kidz Trust (IT2671/2009). The Trust is registered as a Public Benefit Organization (PBO-930031301), a Non Profit Organisation (NPO 102-098), a Level Four B-BBEE Contributor and has Section 18A status. PwC are the official auditors of the Santa Shoebox Project.

The Santa Shoebox Project originated in Cape Town and has grown in leaps and bounds, with the number of Santa Shoeboxes growing from a humble 180 boxes in 2006 to a record 118 274 in 2013. The boxes are distributed to more than 1000 recipient facilities, through more than 60 satellites around South Africa and Namibia. The success of the Project can largely be attributed to its personal nature - donors give gifts to children whose names, ages and genders are known.

The theme for 2015 is ‘Giving for Good!’

Says Santa Shoebox Project National Coordinator, Irené Pieters: ‘Our focus this year is really about ‘giving for good’. We want to do good by giving (good) top quality gift boxes to (good) deserving children – some of whom have never received a gift at Christmas time before, to create an overwhelmingly good experience that benefits them - for good.

SSB 100 000

This is the backbone of the Santa Shoebox Project. In addition to collecting and distributing 100 000 Santa Shoeboxes to underprivileged children around South Africa and Namibia, a Virtual Box option was introduced in 2014 allowing out-of-town and international donors to support the Project by purchasing a Virtual Box via the SSB website.

SSB Pipeline

In 2014, for the first time, kind hearted donors had the opportunity to donate Proudly South African rain ponchos to children who live in high winter rainfall areas - to keep them dry, healthy and in school. The item to be distributed may change every year with future possibilities for Solar Buddies, Lap Desks and the like.

SSB Legacy

As all operating costs of the Santa Shoebox Project are covered by the Project’s main sponsors, all other donations will contribute towards the SSB Legacy. The funds will be used for skills training of the caregivers at the more than 1000 SSB recipient facilities. The first roll-out will be in 2015 and the skill to be taught will be basic First Aid - benefiting not only the children, but the wider community as well. Possibilities for the future include Self Defence, Permaculture and other community-centric skills.

The project is supported by an extensive network of volunteers across South Africa and Namibia – kind-hearted people who give freely of their time, energy and expertise without remuneration. It also relies on the generous backing of various corporate sponsors pledging monetary or pro bono support. Many companies, involving their staff members, pledge Santa Shoeboxes as part of their Corporate Social Investment programmes.

Satellite projects have sprung up not only in the big cities but also in many small rural towns, each of which is run by volunteers who take responsibility for coordinating their areas. The project is represented in all provinces, with 50 satellites across South Africa, and 3 in Namibia. See Our Beneficiaries for 2014 recipient facilities

Children’s Act 38 of 2005

The Children’s Act 38 of 2005 (as amended by the Children’s Amendment Act 41 of 2007) and the associated Regulations came into force on 1 April 2010 to respect, promote, protect and fulfil children’s constitutional rights. The Santa Shoebox Project will do its utmost to uphold the rights of the children it represents, to ensure that active steps are taken to prevent third parties from interfering with and violating the children’s rights. More…

Kidz2Kidz Trust

The Kidz2Kidz Trust (IT2671/2009) is a registered Public Benefit (PBO-930031301) and Non Profit Organisation (NPO 102-098) with Level Four B-BBEE Contributor and Section 18A status.