Twitter Blanket Drive’s People with Passion

Nelson Mandela Bay: On 26 May 2016 the first ever annual Twitter Blanket Drive #TBD2016 to be held in Nelson Mandela Bay will come to an end. Since 2010 people with passion have joined the #TBD2016 call to donate old or new blankets across South Africa for this campaign.

Twitter Blanket Drive started in 2010 in South Africa when Melanie Minnaar challenged the Twitter Community to each donate one blanket during winter. The Twitter community responded with compassion and engaged on the social media platform to collect blankets for some of the country’s most vulnerable people. Over the past six years, thousands of blankets have been collected in the weeks leading up to winter to provide some relief and, of course, warmth to those in need.

During Nelson Mandela Bay’s first participation partners such as the Protea Hotel Marine, Summerstrand; Wild Rapids Spur in Uitenhage and Panarottis in Despatch all hosted the drop-off zones for the 2016 Twitter Blanket Drive campaign.

“Winter is coming and everyone needs an extra blanket,” says Eileen Koeberg, one of the volunteers who supported #TBD2016 in Port Elizabeth and works as a nurse at Livingstone Hospital. “The people at our hospital have been very generous to donate blankets, thank you so much.”

The Salvation Army (http://salvationarmy.org.za/) has been chosen as the NGO to receive the blankets this year as they are known for their work among the poorest and most destitute people in local communities. Twittering people with passion donated over 100 blankets.

“The Twitter Blanket Drive helps people to get involved by helping organisations like ourselves make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us. It is important for us to count on each other to make this possible,”  says Major Valerie Potgieter, head of the Salvation Army in Uitenhage. “We will make sure that those on the streets become our priority with this drive and so meet the most needy during this winter time.”

Event Invitation:

All are invited to join the hand-over parties on Thursday, 26 May at the following venues and times:

• 15h00: Uitenhage @ Wild Rapids Spur, Caledon St & Queen Mary Crescent – Tel. 041-9226977
• 18h00: Port Elizabeth @ Protea Hotel Marine, Summerstrand, Marine Drive – Tel. 041-5832101

Nelson Mandela Bay residents can make their final blanket donations at the above venues, join the hosts and people with passion from Twitter.

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