(The first blanket handover in Mandela Square in Sandton City
shows a portion of the blankets collected!)
Knitting is now seen as a trendy and popular pastime thanks
to Carolyn Steyn and her passionate bunch of knit-wits.
Steyn founded 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day in December
2013. Since then, the initiative has garnered thousands of supporters from
around the world and over 4,000 blankets have been collected for charity
organisations in South Africa.
67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day was recently nominated
for ANN7’s Campaign of the Year Award.
According to Steyn: “We are so humbled and honoured to be
considered for this award. We’re still in infancy and don’t even have a bank
account – to be nominated alongside corporate giants like KFC and Coca-Cola is
indeed a privilege! 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day started out as a simple
challenge and has become a global movement. We were able to keep so many people
warm this winter because of passion - passion for the cause, passion for making
a difference and passion for Madiba’s legacy! I would like to take this
opportunity to thank and applaud all the knit-wits for embracing this
initiative with such gusto and enthusiasm.”
Steyn’s next goal is to collect double the amount of
blankets for distribution in the winter of 2015. To keep the momentum alive,
Steyn plans on having knit-a-thons, blanket handovers and even a “yarn-bomb” at
the Nelson Mandela statue at the Union Buildings.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that we would be
able to collect thousands of blankets to hand out to those in need on Mandela
Day,” concludes Steyn. ”In fact, I was aiming for a mere 67 blankets! The power
of intention is an incredible thing, as is making a difference – it’s
contagious. This Award nomination really means a lot to me and to the knit-wits
because it acknowledges our efforts and shines a light on our hard work. If
this is what we were able to achieve in just seven months – the possibilities
for next year are truly endless.”
To vote for 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day, SMS CAMP 1
to 43043 or e-mail CAMP 1 to satyvoting@ann7.com
. You can vote as many times as you like.
Support the campaign by joining the group on Facebook: 67
Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day and follow on twitter: @67blankets
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