Ken Forrester Vineyards headed Madiba’s call to help their communities on Nelson Mandela Day. This auspicious day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009 on the father of our nation’s birthday, the 18th of July.
This year the focus was on supporting the homeless community starting with Ken Forrester Vineyards making food parcels to support the Somerset West Night Shelter to help in the shelter’s community outreach. The shelter provides secure overnight sleeping accommodation, an evening meal and breakfast and ablution facilities with warm showers to the homeless community of the Helderberg. Social work services are given such as counselling, identity document applications, social grant applications, pension applications, and liaising with other organisations such as old age homes, clinics and hospitals. Various workshops are given like the HIV awareness program ensuring a wide scope of opportunities to make real change.
Ken Forrester Vineyards also visited Sheltersuit, a Non-Profit Organisation that creates products thoughtfully designed to protect people from the elements. Originally the brainchild of Dutch designer Bas Timmer after learning that a close friend’s father passed from hyperthermia while sleeping on the streets. Sheltersuit has grown quickly and has a footprint in the Netherlands, New York and since 2020, South Africa. The SA branch has locations around the Western Cape and in Gauteng, producing Shelterbags which are adapted for warmer conditions ensuring ventilation while being waterproof. Sheltersuit has an immediate impact by offering a layer of protection to homeless persons while creating jobs and promoting sustainability.
For Ken Forrester Vineyards, sustainability is at the core of its philosophy, through providing maximum employment opportunities. Engaging with community projects such as Somerset West Night Shelter and Sheltersuit is an extension of this philosophy and a privilege in honouring Madiba’s wish to help communities.
Photo credits: Somerset West Night Shelter, Sheltersuit