At weekends in the summer the trustees of Thuso are out and about at local events and fairs fundraising for the feeding programme at the Thuto Lesedi School. We collect bric-a-brac and grow-on plants to sell throughout the year. Many of the plants are donated by one of our student sponsors, Mr Christoforou. Last year we had stalls at Cann Hall Baptist Church, Holy Family School, Hornbeam Environmental Centre, Lloyd Park May Fun Day, Redbridge Green Fair, Thuso Garden Party, Walthamstow Village Ass’n Garden Party, Walthamstow Green Fair, Walthamstow Mela, and the Leyton Day, We turn up in 4 cars packed to the roof with stuff to unload, and set up our stalls in wind, rain or sun! Last year we lost 2 gazebos, which were blown down and damaged beyond repair…
The pictures below show the Thuso stalls and trustees at various of the above events.
Fundraising
Trustee Tania Collins fundraises on behalf of our sister charity Community Heart whose aim is to fill up all the empty school library shelves in South Africa with appropriate donated books in good condition. She spends her evenings making various crafts to sell such as jewellery, candles, purses, Xmas and birthday cards, jams and pick-a-stick prizes for children. With the money she makes she buys newchildren’s books, especially featuring black children and African history.Then, together with books donated from local schools, we pack them up and send them to Community Heart for onward transport to South Africa. Over the years she has raised thousands of pounds for the Community Heart charity.
Tania had a stall at all the fairs and events listed above plus specialist craft fairs. She is absolutely tireless and unstoppable in her endeavour to help South African children. The pictures below show Tania with other Thuso trustees on her stall.