Learners from Herman High School together with their teachers have hopped on board to help their local hospice turn Hermanus pink as part of a national cancer awareness drive.
Overstrand, South Africa (18 September 2026) – Overstrand Hospice recently took to social media to praise teachers and learners from Herman High School, who have hopped on board to cut and prepare hundreds of metres of pink fabric for this year’s Pink Trees for Pauline campaign.
The fabric will be wrapped around trees across Hermanus and the greater Overstrand as homes, businesses and public spaces join the annual drive in support of people affected by cancer.
Overstrand Hospice is hoping to see the area flooded with colour from mid-September through October. Community members are encouraged to get involved by purchasing fabric for R50 per metre and wrapping a tree of their own.
Every metre bought from the hospice will help raise funds for cancer patients and families in the community. The money goes toward home nursing, counselling, transport, food parcels, toiletries and wheelchairs and more.
Seeing an entire town turn pink is a sight to behold, but the awareness campaign goes far beyond the Overstrand. Pink Trees for Pauline has been doing this across South Africa since 2012.
The initiative was started by Carol-Ann van Jaarsveld after she lost both her mother and grandmother, who were both named Pauline, to cancer. The first year of the campaign saw 4000 trees around Graaff-Reinet wrapped in pink. It wasn’t long before the rest of SA wanted to get involved!
Each year, communities across the country take part. The funds raised in each town stay within that town to support its own cancer community.
The campaign represents all types of cancer. Those who take part do it for someone they have lost. Some wrap a tree for somebody currently going through treatment. Each flash of pink along a street reminds patients that there are people in their own communities who are rooting for them.
Once October is over, the fabric doesn’t go to waste. Pink Trees for Pauline encourages communities to reuse it, and previous years have seen the material turned into hats, handbags, curtains, dresses and even woven bath mats.
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