KEPS fundraising

The School is involved in numerous outreach programmes, such as South African National Blood Service (SANBS) blood drives, donating Easter Eggs and other items such as clothes and blankets to children’s homes and hospitals, CANSA Shavathons, collecting and donating grocery items for community members in need and supporting animal shelters.

The Parents Association heads up our fun and fundraising initiatives and events, where the proceeds also benefit our community.

We try to make children aware of those less fortunate than themselves and encourage them to contribute towards different charities, whether that is a monetary contribution or time dedicated. Each year we have a group of Grade 7 boys who help Mrs Sundar to coordinate and gather donations for each of the events or projects. These boys are an invaluable contribution! The school supports various charities, including Hospice, Child Welfare, Cotlands, flood victims, homeless and abused children, Animals in Distress, SPCA, soup kitchens and the Muscular Dystrophy Organisation. We have adopted the Hope School for the Physically Disabled as one of our recipients from our fundraising.

KIDS ENRICHMENT PROGRAMMES

The “Kids Enrichment Programmes” initiative, was started by Mrs Du Plessis in 2010, when the Grade 1 group undertook the Feed-A-Friend Project. The aim of Feed-A-Friend was to give a healthy packed lunch to the children at Norwood Primary School every Wednesday. It was so successful, that in 2011, we decided to run the project again, and selected to partner with Yeoville Boys. Being a far larger group, we have involved both Grade 1 and 2 KEPS boys. Every Wednesday each child arrived with 2 identical lunch packs, one for himself and one for his “friend”. The lunch packs are collected weekly and the immediate benefit of a full tummy is appreciated! 180 KEPS boys have felt the “warm fuzzy feeling” of doing something good – the first of many altruistic life lessons to be learnt! 

In Winter, we started the Cup-A-Soup Project in addition to the weekly Feed-a-Friend lunch. Within days of announcing the Cup-A-Soup Project, two wonderful Grade 2 Parents extended the number of beneficiaries in our “Kids Enrichment Programmes”, by involving their companies! The Cup-A-Soup Project was adopted by the 3000 strong staff at Edcon. Through their generosity, we were able to feed far more boys than just the Grade 1’s. We were even able to send home the extra soups donated, to boys in dire need! The second windfall was from Starke Ayres, who have generously donated vegetable garden seed packs! As soon as the seeds were received, they were planted and are now growing at Yeoville Boys. Very soon, they will have their first crop of fresh vegetables and a sustainable food source! 

Our KEPS Grade 3 boys along with Mrs. Geldenhuys and the PA Parents, have adopted the KEPS Starke Ayres Vegetable Garden Project. They too have planted their vegetable seeds, so we will have our own vegetable crop very soon. A first time ‘growing experience’ for many of our boys! 

A sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU, from both Yeoville Boys and King Edward VII Preparatory School, to Edcon and Starke Ayres for their kind and generous donations.  

Our efforts are now focused on developing a friendship between the boys from the two schools and to provide opportunities for shared experiences at KEPS and at Yeoville. Ten pioneers for KEPS, participated in the Yeoville Boys / Pick ‘n Pay 2.5km or 5km Fun Run. A great day was had by all and we look forward to participating next year, given the knowledge that the race is safe and well-organised! 

21st September 2011 was our first Meet-A-Friend day (pictures can be seen in the gallery), much fun was had by all and some good friends were made. The “Kids Enrichment Programmes” has been further extended to include the Early Bird Breakfast Club. The establishment of this club has seen us providing a vital breakfast meal to our own KEPS boys, some of which leave home so early in the morning, it is too early for them to eat. We all know how difficult it is to work or learn on an empty stomach. 

The only criteria for inclusion in the Early Bird Breakfast Club is that the boy is in the classroom early, and feels he needs this breakfast meal to be able to learn that day! At present we feed approximately 30 children daily, and the success of this project pivots on unconditional acceptance. 

Attendance is elective, and we do not ask children to qualify or quantify their need! Many thanks to the “Kids Enrichment Programmes” caring family of parents, teachers and pupils for their contributions of time, foodstuffs and support in seeking to make this a sustainable project. We look forward to the future and hope to exponentially grow our “Kids Enrichment Programmes” family to include more KEPS boys on the journey of creating a culture of giving and receiving, appreciation and recognition.