Cape Town - The Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust has called for more hands on deck by joining the volunteer programme as well as donating towards the manufacturing of much-needed cloth masks.
The Children’s Trust chief executive, Jason Falken, said members of the public could assist by joining their Champions for Children initiative.
“People have different skills and different resources they may wish to contribute to the programme, not everyone is physically strong or willing to pack boxes,” he said. “Volunteering can also mean organising things, making phone calls, helping with fundraising or even just to provide moral support.”
The Champion for Children’s programme is a platform for those who support the Children’s Trust, and for those wishing to offer their time, skills and support at a time when it is most needed.
Designated groups on social media platforms such as Facebook and Whatsapp will be used to communicate and share ideas and solutions between volunteers and the Trust, which will then be further explored.
“We may then request help on specific volunteer calls to action and on the other side, Champions may wish to pursue instantiates or ideas they may have, in which case we can render them the appropriate support. So the Champions for Children is both a club of friends and a pool of volunteers,” said Falken. “Volunteering has an amazing ability to connect people and connect communities.”
Fabric face masks are also needed for medical and auxiliary staff, child-
patients, their mothers and families.
“We are very specific about the quality and design of the mask to ensure their effectiveness and longevity. If you wish to help us, monetary donations are the easiest way as we can then activate factories to manufacture our masks at scale which also helps the economy and keeps our community people employed,” said Falken.
Donations in the form of fabric and ready-made masks that fit the specific design requirements will also be accepted.
Should you wish to volunteer, visit the website www.tygerbergchildren.org.za, click the volunteer tab and complete the online application form.