Laundry Bags For Twilanga

Heléne Griffiths, UWA 2012 President, decided to do something closer to home and embarked on a project to make laundry bags for the residents of Twilanga Retirement Village and Care Centre. The project took off on Madiba Day in July when 7 volunteers, armed with sewing machines, gathered at Bernina Durban North to make the bags. 67 minutes from each volunteer was not enough as it took many days and hours to complete one hundred bags and embroider the UWA's logo on each one.

The 7 volunteers who assisted Heléne included two UWA members - Debbie Becker and Martie Willemse whilst the others, Siobhan Young, Annette Shea, Ann Becker, Ann McLeod and Margaret Winter, are local seamstresses who willingly gave up their time in honour of Madiba. The UWA's first President, Teresa de Beer, also lent a helping hand with the final touches to complete the bags.

A 'wish list' for goodies to fill the bags was obtained from the caring staff at Twilanga Frail Care and with the assistance of some sponsorship Heléne managed to include 12 items, suitable for senior citizens, in each bag.

The majority of the bags were handed out at the recent Twilanga AGM followed by a visit to the newly built Frail Care Centre when the rest were handed out.

Heléne, who has been involved with various charity drives over the years when she was the owner and editor of the Umhlanga Globe, says that this was the most gratifying project she has ever worked on. "The excitement and appreciation shown by each and every one who received a bag was overwhelming and the hard work was really worth while," concluded Heléne.

Info - UMHLANGA WOMEN ACHIEVERS The Umhlanga Women Achievers is a networking club for women in business that was formed in 1994. In 1995 the group adopted the slogan 'to grow together through networking, sharing and enthusiasm'. This is exactly what they've done over the years and numerous members have shared their expertise as guest speakers at monthly meetings. The group's next meeting will be on Wednesday, 2 October, when Roger Knowles will be the guest speaker. For more information about the group contact the President, Debbi Demetriou, on 082 483 3747 or via e-mail : debbi@mitras.co.za