Every year Gerry Smeda and his family set up a dazzling Christmas light display at their home in Kuils River to raise funds for the elderly and newborns.
Gerry Smeda and his family have created an annual must-see Christmas light display to raise funds for various charitable projects. The family tradition has run for over 10 years and has raised over R175,000.00.
The family opens their home to visitors keen on getting a close up look at their light display. They leave a donation tin for people who want to contribute to their chosen cause.
Gerry Smeda has been a History teacher at Heathfield High School since 2005 and believes in supporting children. The funds get donated to hospitals that care for newborns in ICU. He also tries to donate toys wherever he can.
His passion for good started in 2006 when he and the family decided to do a light display for the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. Since then they have supported Old Age homes and various children’s hospitals. The funds raised from the 2017 display were given to the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital. They raised just over R30,000.00 this year.
The funds will help contribute to ten new beds in the intensive care unit. One bed usually costs around R1.5 million including care. This will help many families support their sickly little ones and remove some of the financial burdens they carry.
Gerry says that as soon as the schools break up and he gets his December break, he and his son Rosco start work on the house. It takes about two weeks to get the lights wired up and in working order. The family carry the cost of the electricity bill personally which can be up to R4300.00. Sadly Gerry will stop the Christmas Lights in 2 years, once he has retired as a teacher.
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