OUTsurance works within its surrounding communities to uplift people facing challenges, many of their initiatives are staff-driven, much like their blanket drive.
Pretoria, South Africa – Winter in South Africa can be terribly cold and depending on where you live in the country; the cold is turned bitter by rains, winds and frost. While the temperatures may vary, they are always unbearable when living on the streets.
Often, a warm blanket is the only thing that stands between a homeless person making it through the night or not. Shelter is hard to come by and often the homeless take to sleeping under bridges, shop fronts and in abandoned spaces to escape the cold.
At OUTsurance, they have a team that works tirelessly to identify people in need and lend a helping hand. Staff at the company also get the chance to put forward charities they wish to support. The whole company then gets involved in making a difference.
Recently OUTsurance held a blanket drive at their head office in Centurion and encouraged staff to take part. They collected items such as blankets, beanies, socks and Vaseline. They also received a donation of soup and bread to help feed the homeless.
In total, they were able to collect enough to help 150 homeless people. They teamed up with the Kingdom Culture – Open Mind ministries to connect with the homeless in central Pretoria.
We love seeing the business community doing real good for the South African community. It is a lot more than just one good deed.
Speaking to Francesco Rizzuto, a former homeless person that got his second chance, he confirmed that sometimes a pillow or blanket makes all the difference. He would knock on peoples doors asking for blankets to stay warm. Francesco says during the day, he would hide his blankets away and go collect them when it started getting dark.
“I used to sleep in parks, on shop corners, under garages and in stormdrains”, “I will be honest with you, it is quite easy to sleep on the streets if you’ve got a nice comfy blanket, some beautiful pillows and some warmth. That really makes the biggest difference to a homeless person”
Staff Helping SA OUT have many more fantastic community stories to share. Take a look at photos from their blanket drive below.
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