[caption id="attachment_207566" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Many residents lost everything in the fires that raged through the coastal towns of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Photo: Deneesha Pillay/The Herald[/caption]
Retail giant Pick n Pay has responded swiftly to the Knysna and Plettenberg Bay crisis, making a substantial donation to relief efforts, and coordinating efforts to enable food donations to those affected by the devastating fire.
On Wednesday night, the local store stayed open to serve sandwiches, refreshments, and Lip Ice to firefighters and those most in need.
On Thursday, the company made a disaster relief cash donation of R100 000.
Pick n Pay has a particularly close relationship with the communities of Knysna through the July Oyster Festival which it sponsors, and co-sponsors Momentum Group have matched Pick n Pay’s donation.
The director of transformation at Pick n Pay, Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, said: “We put a call out to our business partners and suppliers and were incredibly heartened by their generosity.
“To help with the management of relief and to offer shelter, the decision was taken to set up Oyster Festival marquees and tents this weekend,” she said.
“These will be used by volunteers to help people who have lost everything, provide meals and if necessary, a place to sleep.
“Portable toilets will also be set up. Absa Bank, apart from its own CSI commitments, has donated R2-million, to assist in setting up and maintaining the tent village.
“DHL is delivering 500 blankets we’ve donated, while Tiger Brands has donated 10 tons of baked beans and Pioneer has donated 400 boxes of Futurelife products.
“We’re also sending 14 tons of potatoes to be made into pots of food,” she said.
Donations can be placed in specially marked trolleys at a number of stores along the Garden Route.
The full list of the 13 Garden Route stores:
- Fraaiuitsig Pick n Pay Family Store
- George Pick n Pay Family Store
- Grootbrak Pick n Pay Family Store
- Hartenbos Pick n Pay Family Store
- Oudtshoorn Pick n Pay Family Store
- Plettenberg Bay Pick n Pay Family Store
- Sedgefield Pick n Pay Family Store
- York Street Pick n Pay Family Store
- Beaufort West Pick n Pay Local
- Garden Route Mall Pick n Pay
- George Pick n Pay
- Knysna Pick n Pay
- Langeberg Mall Pick n Pay