The message is one of kindness, caring, giving and sharing and teaching all children the Joy of Giving irrespective of how little they have.

Through the work of Kidz2Kidz for the past 8 years, many relationships with recipient facilities have been built. On any given time around 42 facilities receive donations from Kidz2Kidz in the form of clothing, educational materials and funding for necessities such as fences, bathroom facilities and play ground equipment. These facilities were the first recipients of Santa Shoeboxes. The aim is also to specifically support “forgotten” places which are often found outside of the big centres.

Currently recipients are located in Cape Town, Somerset West, Gordon’s Bay, Winelands, Montagu, Swellendam, Stilbaai, Riversdal, Mossel Bay, Stanford, Villiersdorp, Beaufort West, Prince Albert, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Polokwane and Durban, with many new satallites being added this year.

As the project grew, many people learnt of the Santa Shoebox Project and requests started streaming in even as far afield as Zimbabwe, Kenya and Indonesia!

At the Kidz2Kidz Santa Shoebox Project we believe that charity is a two way street. The recipient facility has a responsibility towards the donor  by providing a legitimate and comprehensive namelist and ensuring the gift reaches the intended child.

Witnessing the occasion of a Santa Shoebox finding its intended owner / recipient, is one of the most joyful and gratifying experiences! In a strange way, the right box seems to find the right child!

Many amazing stories are told by caregivers. A 4 year old girl from Firgrove who loves dressing up and is always asking her teacher for make up received a box filled with make up and a pair of high heel dress up shoes!

A grandmother from Hanover Park told the teacher that she was so worried because her one granddaughter who attended the little school would be receiving a Santa Shoebox, but the younger sister still at home would be getting nothing as the Granny could not afford to buy her anything for Christmas. When the Santa Shoebox arrived it had double of everything in it!

Once your Santa Shoebox is dropped off, it might get checked for content, gets checked off a name list, packed into a large carton box, collected by Laser Couriers and transported to a MOL container where it will be stored with thousands of other boxes until it is distributed in time for the Santa Shoebox Celebration. Quite a journey!

Santa Shoebox Celebrations are either held as individual functions at the facility itself or for the first time in Cape Town as a big event in a central venue, bringing a few thousand children together to receive their Santa Shoeboxes.

In order to become a Santa Shoebox recipient, all facilities are assessed in terms of need, visited to ensure legitimacy and to ascertain some form of infrastructure is in place.

Representatives from all recipient facilities are required to attend an information session and to sign a Distributor Agreement to formalise their committment as they will ultimately be responsible for a correct name list and handing out the gifts.

For more detail about each facility, please see become a donor.